What Comes After
by Woomie
Summary: This is a prompt (and first chapter) from Hamato-Grayson. It's set in the middle of season 4. Maybe hints of romance, but mostly relationships from the show from the perspective of an OC.
1. Movin' On

AN: This prompt and the entire first chapter is from Hamato-Grayson. I'm not sure this is the direction they intended but...my mind works in strange ways. Sorry / not sorry! Please enjoy, and comment so I know what you think about the direction it's going. Thanks for the concept, Hamato-Grayson!

It didn't specifically say, so I'm setting this in the middle of season 4, because I want Gwen and the knights and Arthur as king. Wish I could have Lancelot too. :-(

Oh, I don't own Merlin or anything at the BBC, sadly.

CHAPTER 1: Movin' On

I stood over the cliff, the wind sweeping my hair up and behind me as I smiled wistfully at the scene in front. The castle was magnificent, with light-colored stone, smooth and winking up at me from my position. It's just like the film, but this one I knew was the real deal. I was seeing it used for its original purpose. There was a real kingdom built here; it wasn't overrun by excited fans and tourists but real peasants and knights. Servants. A king.

They were here. It had taken me an agonizingly slow number of hours full of grief and pain to realize where I was and where I had landed myself in. At first, I was too upset by my recent death, in a world where my family was living without me and having to bury me so young. The worst thing to happen to a parent was to have to bury your own children, not see them flourish, fulfill life and build their very own family. I was too distraught to listen to the faint whisper in the back of my head telling me that there was something vaguely nostalgic about where I was. My clothes from the accident were still on and I tried my best to ignore the dried blood where my fatal wounds once were. They are gone now.

It was a weird and horrible thought, knowing that my family was grieving at the same time as I, suffering my absence while I knew I was technically alive and couldn't do anything about helping them, reassuring them. That's when I remembered that I'm alive when I shouldn't be and can hear the faint sound of life, carriages, horses and a chorus of different materials made of metal and wood.

Gwaine stuttered around the streets inside of the castle, near the gates to Camelot, smiling drunkenly. I can almost hear his accent from here. It had been so long since I had seen the show, but it was clear as rain in my memories. This was really happening. The actors, their fictional characters, wearing their faces and living a real life in Camelot, where the legend of Arthur and Merlin wasn't just bedtime stories or myths and tales that were still told now in the 21st century.

But I wasn't in the 21st century any more, was I?

I wiped the dried tear stains away and let a little chuckle escape my lips. "This is insane." I dragged my hands over my face exasperatedly. My pack from my trip from my past life which is a bizarre thought, was still strapped to my back.

The memory came back to me of Merlin creating a unicorn out of smoke here and realized that's why it was so familiar. How I had remembered that from so long ago just reminded me how amazing the relationships in the show were that it made me remember such a short scene. I inhaled deeply and exhaled slowly. I looked at my bloody mess of a shirt, my dirtied jeans and slightly shredded boots and shrugged.

"Maybe this is a perfect and convenient excuse for me to go see the Court Physician." I smiled and stuttered in my slow tread down the hill. "This is insane. I can't be dreaming." My conscience replied sarcastically, "Well, duh, you're not." I attached my bag to my stomach and undid the buckle, releasing a compressed brown poncho from inside to use to not alarm the guards in the front. I anxiously strode past them, forgetting to breathe when they looked at me before looking back ahead. Children ran past, playing and squealing, peasants and knight and guards off duty talked to one another in clusters, walking away from me. The different social classes showed in their clothes and postures and I tried not to overthink my own stature. Gwaine was gone by the time I was in the lower town. I followed the beautiful Pendragon flags at the center of Camelot and continued my mission to a certain, awe-inspiring warlock.


	2. The Guide

_AN: This chapter is a bit...weird. But I promise we get to the good stuff soon, and introduce all those characters we're waiting for. Stick with me, pretty please with strawberries on top!_

CHAPTER 2: _The Guide_

I was fascinated by the sights and sounds around me, but very determined to get to my destination. I was just about to ask a sweet looking older woman for directions to Gaius' when the world around me froze. It was as if someone has pushed a pause button.

It wasn't just the people either. A goat had paused mid chew, and a tendril of smoke was frozen in front of my face. I reached out to touch it then a...being...appeared in the way. It wasn't there, then it just was. The world around it grew fuzzy, so it was surrounded by a Monet, then just a kaleidoscope of colors.

I couldn't get my eyes to focus on it. I had the impression of something human-shaped, but I wasn't actually seeing it with my eyes.

"Well, you _are _a go-getter, aren't you?" I felt more than heard a voice. Like the hazy form, it somehow lacked any characteristics that I could put into words. Was it young, old, male, female, high, low? I couldn't tell you. "Most people take far longer to build a world, much less try to interact with it. And such rich detail! You have a very fine imagination."

"Um." Yup, that was my brilliant response.

"Let me choose a form. That will make it easier for you to converse with me."

The form shimmered nauseatingly, then suddenly it was a man. A man I'd seen before.

"Um...crystal cave guy?"

He beamed like I had remembered his birthday. "Very good! Taliesin was his name. Now I'm sure you are wondering a million things right now. I cannot answer all of your questions, but I will get you started. Yes, you died. But obviously, that is not the end. You get another go and, good news, it's a bit easier these subsequent times. Happiness is easier to find, and lasts longer. Sadness fades faster. There is more joy to be found in the mundane. You'll like it."

My brain tripped over itself. "This is the...afterlife."

He shrugged. "This is the continuation of life. Your mind chose you a scenario. If you like it, you can live it. I'll help you get started, then you live out this life."

"And then?" I stuttered through numb lips, idly wondering if it was possible to faint in the afterlife.

"And then you choose another, as long as you want. With an imagination like yours, I would expect you to go a very long time."

"What's...what's a long time?"

He hummed in thought. "Well, Homer is still at it."

My mind began to chase its own tail, wanting to reject his words, but knowing that, beyond a shadow of doubt, they were true. "Iliad and Odyssey Homer?"

"Oh, yes. You should read what else he's written."

"And we just go on forever?"

"No." There was finality in that word, and I knew he wouldn't elaborate.

"Will I, well, will I still be me?"

"Yes. You won't look exactly the way you did, and you won't have the memories of what shaped you into who are. But you'll have the chance to change and grow. 20 years was not enough time, was it?"

My throat tightened and I shook my head. But already, my life and memories were feeling more distant somehow. The apparition nodded encouragingly, and I tried to form words. "Soooooo..."

"So now you decide if this is the reality you want. Then I get you started and you live yourself to death and we do this again." He beamed again, looking slightly deranged. "This reality? Yes?"

"Er...I need to know --"

"No, you don't. It's simple. Now, I believe you want to meet Merlin, Arthur, annnnnnd," his eyes twinkled, "especially Gwaine. I can work with that. Let's make you fit in and give you a dramatic entrance. This may hurt a bit...


	3. A Painful Start

_AN: There, three chapters at once, but only because this one is so short. Should have the fourth done soon, too. Thanks for reading!_

CHAPTER 3: _A Painful Start_

"Ow!" Branches snapped in my face from my frantic flight. My horse suddenly stopped and reared as a black-clad man grabbed for its bridle. Horse? What the...?

"Just take the goods and the lady! Protecting them's not worth my life!" called a panicked voice behind me. He was one of maybe 6 men on horseback around me, and there was a donkey pulling a wagon. We were on a packed dirt road amid an old-growth forest. Scruffy men with naked swords, like the guy right next to me, were running at us from the trees around.

The man trying to grab my horse laughed, a laugh that sent a shiver down my spine. "I'll take 'em all right. But sorry, mate, I like the killin' part."

Fight or flight instinct clicked on and I kicked him in the head despite the dress I was wearing. Why was I wearing a bloody dress anyway? Oh well, good thing Mom made me take taekwondo when I was 6. Wait...

The memory slipped out of my mind like water, and my confused hesitation cost me. Swearing, my attacker grabbed my arm in a bruising grip and ripped me right off the horse. I tried to smash his nose with the back of my head, but I was somehow shorter than I expected to be, and I only hurt my head against a hard chest.

He literally threw me to the ground, knocking the wind out of me. Crouching low, he grabbed my chin hard enough to make my eyes water. Waving a dagger under my nose, he snarled, "stay there while I finish this and you may live."

Terror like I'd never known wrapped icy claws around my insides and the psychopath smiled. "That's right, little girl." He turned to join his equally skeevy companions in attacking my cowardly escorts. Horses screamed and swords clashed as bandits overwhelmed the small party I'd apparently been traveling with. I could actually smell blood in the air and my mouth tasted bitter with fear.

But he'd made a mistake in calling me little girl. I detest nicknames, especially demeaning ones. Anger pushed some of the fear down. Like hell I'd wait on the ground like a frightened mouse. As soon as he turned away, I scrambled to my feet and took off in a random direction into the woods. The stupid dress and -- was I wearing an actual cloak? -- made it harder than normal, but I was highly motivated.

Every branch grabbed at my clothes or hair, but I never slowed. I would NOT be caught by --

"Ack!" I almost choked as I was pulled to a violent stop by a hand grabbing my cloak. I tried to loosen the offending article, but it was too late. I was spun around and my earlier attacker grabbed two fistfuls of the front of my cloak and lifted me off my feet. How freaking strong was this guy? He pulled me so close his rancid breath made me gag.

"You shouldn't've done that, girlie."

I don't know if it was his words or fear or what, but I went nuts. I kicked out with both feet and dragged my nails down the side of his face, spitting like an angry cat. He responded by throwing me backwards. My head connected with something hard, a tree, probably, and the world went dark.


	4. Seriously, Bandits?

_AN: Hello to my friends Gingeraffealene and sandhopper!! So nice to have your comments! BTW, your comments on my previous story literally made me tear up.__It's kind of a fun challenge to write in first person, but I can't wait for more with the actual characters from the show. It will take a couple of chapters to get more into that, but I swear it's coming. Chapters 5 and 6 are practically done, so expect more updates soon. Also, my favorite character shows up here. *giggles childishly*__Enjoy. _

CHAPTER 4: _Seriously, Bandits?_

A very rude reality came trickling in. Rough voices were talking, but there words didn't really reach me. I was lying on something very hard and poky, and my head was pounding hard enough to make my stomach roil and turn. I didn't quite dare move, afraid I would throw up if I did. The whole thing was extremely uncomfortable. I felt very stiff and sore, like I'd had a hard workout or something. I tried to remember what was going on, but the pounding in my head made it hard. I took deep, slow breaths to settle my stomach. My memories were all jumbled up. I remembered the screech of brakes, sudden pain, grief, running through the woods, clashing swords...none of it seemed to fit together. One thing I was sure of: I knew I was very, very angry with someone named Taliesin.

The voices began to make sense, and the attack and failed flight through the woods came back with a rush of terror. Honestly, I kind of wished I were still unconscious. "Why'd ya have to hit her? I wanted to have some fun." grumbled one man, with his mouth full. _That's right, _I though. _Bastard pulled me off a horse, then later threw me into a tree._

"She don't need to be awake for you to have yer fun," said another, and raucous laughter followed, along with other comments I had to shut out. Why couldn't I be Wonder Woman or Lara Croft or someone other than just...me? Lying in my own cold sweat, I forced my aching brain to focus.

Keeping my eyes firmly shut, I tried to evaluate the situation. My hands were bound in front of me, and there were at least four different men's voices, only a few feet away from me. I was sure they'd taken the small knife I kept at my waist, but maybe they hadn't found the dagger I strapped to my ankle whenever I traveled? I very slowly rubbed my ankles together, terribly disappointed when I found the dagger missing. That tiny little flicker of hope all but died. _Wait, since when did I carry a dagger? Was that even legal? But yes, of course I carried a dagger. It was dangerous being a woman, even with the guards my aunt had sent. AUGH! These confusing thoughts were going to drive me mad!_

"I'm not waiting any more," said a voice that would haunt my nightmares, the voice of a man who had laughed and said he enjoyed killing. "I owe her for these scratches."

Well, I had exactly one plan left. Super strong psycho came over and pulled me to my feet. I looked directly into his face and _screamed._ And I mean, I screamed like a banshee. I'm the girl who could be heard from one end of Cedar Point to the other, whatever Cedar Point was. I must have startled the pissant holding me, because he actually jumped back and released me. I fell onto my butt and got two more good screams in before slapped me. And holy crap, did _that _hurt. But I didn't stop screaming until he pulled me back up and held a dagger against my throat. "Shut up, or I will gut you slowly."

I believed him. I swallowed, seeing nothing but his ugly, dirty face. Was that really going to be the last thing I ever saw? My heart began to pound, and my vision swam, but it wasn't all fear. From somewhere deep inside of me, there was also fury. My smart brain, the civilized part, was screaming at me to shut up and lower my eyes and for heaven's sake don't antagonize that man with the pointy thing held against my neck. But the more primitive part, the part that had laid hidden for my whole life, whichever life was real, pushed all of that civilization aside. I stared him right in the eyes, and with a growl in my voice that I didn't even know I could make, said, "Go ahead, you stinking coward. I would rather die than be touched one more time by a filthy worm like you." And I spit on him. I'm not proud of that moment; I'm not really sure what came over me, but there it is. You know what? I _am _a little bit proud of that moment.

Attacker dude's face turned a strange shade of purple, but before he could sputter his rage, he stiffened. "You heard the lady," drawled an unseen man in an Irish accent. "Let her go." With an honest-to-goodness roar, he backhanded me. Everything was rather confused after that. There was a lot of yelling and clashing of swords, but mostly I just watched feet chase each other around from my spot on the ground. My vision sort of drifted in and out of focus anyway, so I didn't feel quite up to standing up. I sort of sleepily realized that I should be a lot more interested in who won the fight, and might want to consider running, having no idea who it was that was fighting my captors. Even if the bandits lost, I might be going from the frying pan into the fire. But I just couldn't muster the energy to care much.

It might have been a few minutes or a few hours, but the sounds of clanging stopped. Boots came toward me and stopped, and someone crouched down low to look into my eyes. Hazily, I looked up to see a ridiculously handsome face creased with concern. The man pulled off his gloves and cut my hands free, then just barely touched the spot the psycho had backhanded me with one finger. I'd like to tell you I bravely told him I was fine, but really, I just blinked stupidly. A tiny bit of my confused brain thought I recognized him, but the thought was buried almost instantly in the soft mist that had taken over my thoughts. The voice that had interrupted my attacker spoke sadly. "Ah, sweetheart, what've they done to ya?"

The world was sort of gray and fuzzy, and, well, I'm afraid what I said was, "You're pretty."

He smiled a little, but still looked sad. "Let's get you to a physician. It's a good thing we heard you scream." He lifted me up – lifted me up! – from the ground and I had a fleeting thought that the guys around here were freaking strong. I mean, who does that? Isn't it like a romance novel thing? The thought of romance made me think of a beautiful castle that practically shone when it caught the sun.

"Camelot?" I whispered.

"Yes, sweetheart. You're safe now." I wanted to tell him not to call me sweetheart, but someone turned out the lights.


	5. Triumphant Entry

_AN: Just a quick transition chapter. Next 2 are already written so hold tight!_

CHAPTER 5: _Triumphant Entry_

I found out later that my first trip into the fabled city of Camelot was in the back of the donkey cart, on top of some of the bags of goods. Very heroic, huh? I didn't really rejoin the land of the living until I was being laid on a cot by my rescuer. "You back with us?" he asked in his Irish brogue. I nodded. And winced. This business of getting knocked out was already getting old. An older man pushed Mr. Handsome aside.

"Gwaine, flirt later. The lady is in pain." He gave me a gentle smile. "I'm Gaius. Where are you hurt, my lady? Can you tell us what happened?"

My body felt like a giant bruise, so I went through everything that hurt and allowed Gaius to kick out Gwaine and help me. At some point, while Gaius was cleaning a small cut on my jaw that must have opened when halitosis Harry hit me, another young man came in. He had dark hair and wore a red shirt, blue neckerchief, and stained brown jacket. "I'm Merlin," he said with an easy smile. "I assist Gaius. Do you mind if I stay and help?"

His easy manner was very relaxing, and I found myself smiling back, ignoring the pain it caused in my poor jaw. "Fine with me. I'm..." I felt the smile slide off my face. How could I not know my own name? "I'm..." my mouth moved without my permission, no sound coming out. For whatever reason, this was scarier than waking up in the middle of stinking bandits.

"It's all right, my dear," said Gaius with that smile that all doctors seem to have to reassure patients. He set a hand gently on her shoulder, and I decided to forgive him for nickname. I could live with it until I knew my actual name. I suppose. "With a head injury, it is not uncommon to have some memory loss. The bump on your head is very large, but I have no doubt that your memories will return as you heal." Merlin also gave me a smile, and it was so familiar that I was temporarily distracted from my distress.

"Until you remember your name, we could call you Samena, maybe," he offered with a shrug. "It means mystery." He gave a sheepish smile.

I did my best to smile back. "Okay. Mina."

"You need rest more than anything else." Interjected Gaius. "The king will want to hear what happened, but that can wait until tomorrow. Are you comfortable sleeping here where we can keep an eye on you? Or would you feel better if we put you in a room in the castle proper with a maid to help you?"

I was feeling extremely tired, and truly didn't feel like moving any further than I had to. Besides, despite my recent experiences, I felt absolute faith in these two. "I'll just stay here."

"You can have my bed; it will give you a little privacy," offered Merlin. He shook his head when I started to protest. "I do it all the time when we have someone who needs help. Let me help you up the stairs."

"Yes, I have a tea for you to drink that will help you sleep."

"I don't think that will be a problem," I admitted. I couldn't believe I was going to sleep more, but there you have it. I hardly made it up the stairs and into the bed, and swallowed down the bitter tea before I fell into a deep, restful sleep. Tomorrow would have to handle my problems, because I was seriously over today.


	6. Oh, My Achin' Bones

_AN: Told you the next update was coming soon. Kind Merlin, solicitous Arthur, chivalrous knights, oh my!_

CHAPTER 6: Oh, My Achin' Bones

The next morning, I was stiffer than I'd ever been in my entire life. I could hardly get out of bed and take care of my most basic needs, especially getting into the clothes I found at the end of the bed. I was beyond grateful that the dress simply slid over my head and buckled at the waist. I felt like I was about 100 years old. My head still ached terribly, and my back felt like a giant bruise. As I was awkwardly washing my face, Merlin tapped on the door and peeked in holding a tray of food.

"Pretty sore today, huh?" he asked sympathetically as he watched me inch back toward the bed with all the speed of an arthritic snail.

"Mph."

"Gaius has some draughts here that will help with that. Between that and moving around a bit, you'll feel a whole lot better. There's a paste here to put on your bruises, too. And I'm to take the bandage off your neck." I had a thin slice from dillweed's dagger.

"Thank you." I felt a little guilty. "Sorry I'm cranky."

"Trust me, that's nothing like the cranky I deal with every day." His grin was disarming.

"Gaius?" I was surprised.

"Um, no. Someone else..." He twisted his mouth to the side and I didn't push him on it.

I found the food pretty good. When I finished, I walked back and forth for a little while, even doing some very gentle stretches and began to feel a lot better. Okay, my injuries, especially my head, still royally sucked, but at least I could move again. Someone thoughtfully sent in a maid who helped me into a beautiful mauve dress that was lightweight yet warm. She also did my hair, which would have been entirely impossible for me on my own. Part of me thought I should be very embarrassed to have someone else dress me and part of me thought it was exactly what I was used to. I shook my sore head, sick of the dichotomy. I thanked the maid as she left and Merlin stuck his head in again. "The king would like to hear what happened to you, if you think you're up for it."

"That's fine," I sighed.

"You look nice," he said, but I couldn't answer. It was time to look in the mirror, and I felt deep in my soul that looking at my reflection would change everything. Taking a deep breath, I turned to the mirror on the wall. I was right, my appearance was right. My hair was far too long, and lighter than I thought it should be. My features were softer than I expected, my eyes hazel instead of blue and the shape just a little different than expected. And I was way, way too short. My eyes filled with tears as I felt another link break to a life I couldn't quite remember. Merlin's eyes met mine in the mirror, and there was sympathy and understanding there. It gave me what I needed to straighten my spine and lift my chin.

"Thank you, Merlin. I'm ready to go."

Some girls could just walk into a throne room with poise and grace, I'm sure. I am not one of them. Despite my pretty dress, I was all too aware of how I looked. The left side of my jaw was one giant purple and red bruise, with a lump in the center. My right arm had another lovely bruise, this one visibly in the shape of a hand. There was also the line that had been cut into my neck, and I walked stiffly despite all of Gaius' help. Basically, I was a mess. I knew you should never show weakness in front of a king, and I showed nothing but weakness. Even the doors to the throne room intimidated me, not to mention the impassive guards that flanked it. I had an overwhelming urge to turn around and run all the way back out of Camelot, but it was too late. The doors had been thrown open.

Oh, great. The length of the long room was lined by intimidating men in robes. Not only that, but intermixed in with them were even scarier guys in chain mail and long red capes. Holy crap. Knights! I hadn't even looked at the dais yet, where I knew I would see the king. I glanced back at Merlin in pure panic, but he just smiled and made a sort of shooing motion, encouraging me to keep walking. Sadly, my feet were glued to the ground and I just stood awkwardly in the doorway. Feeling my heart pounding, I looked over the room again. There, in the middle of the knights, was a familiar pair of brown eyes. This guy had seen me scream insults at a thug who had a freaking sword at my neck. I couldn't be a coward in front of him now.

My feet finally started to move. I wanted to glide across the room "the picture of sophisticated grace" like a princess had sung once. But my battered body simply didn't allow it. I didn't look at anyone's eyes again, hoping to avoid seeing disgust or annoyance, and then a minor miracle happened. The king came off the dais and met me halfway. Read that again. The king. Of Camelot. Came to me. And he took my hand in his, and I dragged my eyes up to see compassion, not annoyance or even pity. "My lady," he said, "I can see you've been through quite an ordeal."

I gave the world's creakiest curtsey. "Your highness. I am...Mina."

He turned and called, "Bring Lady Mina a chair!" I took the moment to study him. He was tall and blonde and broad shouldered, with cheekbones for days. Honestly, a king should not be so good-looking. It really wasn't fair with everything else he had going for him. He wasn't even snobby, apparently. "Please, have a seat," he said. "I'm sorry to ask you to relive your ordeal, but knowing what happened can help us address the problem and hopefully prevent others from suffering as you have."

Dang, he was good. "Thank you for your indulgence, King Arthur. I am afraid that I do not remember the beginning of my journey at all, though your court physician assures me that this is due to the bump on my head and will pass in time. However, I would be happy to tell you of the attack." I was so surprised at my own eloquence, I pictured a rusty brown tow truck in my head with a thick southern accent saying Shoot, I'm talkin' all fancy-like. It occurred to me belatedly that I the accent I spoke with sounded just like most of theirs when I felt like I used to sound...different. Well, no time for all of that double lives crap now, I thought, and began to tell my ugly story.

For all his solicitousness to me, the king got downright pissed when I talked about the attack and how I was injured. Each time I glossed over something, he asked a question that brought me back around, so they heard every icky detail. I was really glad that the fury in those blue eyes wasn't directed at me, I'll tell you. Then I noticed the knights. Oh yes, they were all pissed off to hear about a woman being attacked. I didn't really like the damsel in distress feeling, but seeing their chivalry still warmed the cockles of my cold little heart. Gwaine was scowling fiercely, and about half of the others had their hands on their swords, as if they'd like to kill my attackers all over again. As I had that thought, Arthur asked Gwaine, "were all of the bandits killed?"

Gwaine shook his head, jaw clenched. "No, this was just a small group. There's no way it was all of them. We killed everyone there, but we're no closer to finding their base of operations. The good news is that the one who attacked Lady Mina was Bruin, their leader." He looked grimly satisfied. "And he'll never hurt anyone again." I felt relieved, then guilty that someone dying made me feel relieved. But mostly I just felt relieved. That Bruin had been the scariest creature I'd ever had the displeasure to meet, and I might not have quite so many nightmares knowing he was gone. "Lady Mina got in a few licks of her own before we even got there." I blushed a little at the praise. Stupid fair skin.

But then something triggered in my memory of earlier in the trip, and I frowned a little. "Is there something else, Lady Mina?" asked the king, obviously paying more attention than I'd thought.

"Maybe?" I heard the uncertainty in my own voice.

"Go on, you can tell us," he encouraged. For the love, those Disney princes had nothing on this man. I hoped he wasn't as perfect as he seemed, because that would just be annoying.

"Um...well, there was a reason we took the route that we did. Just outside of the hinterlands there were..." I trailed off, realizing what I was about to say would sound cracked. But Arthur nodded and approximately 4,863 people were staring at me, so I swallowed and continued. "There were eyes in the trees, in the shadows. Hundreds of eyes. The guards really wanted to turn back, but they didn't want to lose their pay, so they decided we could take the more dangerous route. The eyes – I know this sounds mad, but – the eyes all moved at the same time. They blinked at the same time, looked at the same thing. It was so eerie." I hadn't remembered one iota of that until I started talking. It was the strangest thing. Maybe this meant that all of my memory would return soon.

"Thank you for telling us that, and for giving us the entire tale, though you must be very sore and tired after your ordeal. We'll look into clearing out the bandits, and research the eyes."

I recognized the dismissal and realized that the stress of relating it all had made me tired. "Thank you for your indulgence, your majesty, and for your hospitality." I rose and gave another limp curtsy.

"Nonsense. You are welcome to stay in the palace as long as you wish, until you are fully recovered. And we will lend you some guards to see you safely to the end of your journey whenever you are ready to depart."

I inclined my head, pretending I had manners, and Gwaine spoke up. "I will see the lady back to Gaius' chambers." He offered his arm and the little girl inside me sighed at the chivalry, while the adult panicked, not sure how exactly I was supposed to hold onto it. Some long-hidden memory saved me, and I laid my hand on his forearm. It took about 100 years to get to the doors, but finally, finally, finally we were out of there, and I never even fell on my face. Go me.


	7. A Stroll

_AN: This story feels like it's taking a long time to get going, but…I'm working on it, I swear. This chapter is just a bit of Gwaine fluff. Cuz ya know, I *heart* Gwaine.__Hamato-Grayson, thank you for your blessing!__Gingeraffealene, thanks for your comments. I'm glad you like the OC. She's a bit of a mess, which is why I like her. I do appreciate Arthur…he doesn't get his due!_

CHAPTER 7: _A Stroll_

As soon as we were out of sight of the guards by the throne room door, I took my hand off Gwaine's arm and let myself slump against the wall. "Lady Mina! Are you alright?" He raised a hand as if to help me.

I felt bad for scaring him. "I'm fine, completely fine. Just...sweet Georgia peaches, that was scary!"

He laughed, the worried look falling off his face. "You didn't look scared. You stood on the threshold like a queen, waiting until every eye was on you before walking in with your head held high, as if you were tellin' us those bandits weren't even worth your notice."

"Is that what you saw?" I leaned forward, and he reflexively copied my movement. "Want to know a secret, Sir Gwaine? I was so terrified by all those scary, important people looking at me that I froze. I might have turned and run away, but I saw you."

He looked intrigued. "And why did that help?"

"Because you saw me spit in the face of that mouth-breathing piece of horse dung. I couldn't run away from just telling my story or you'd think I was a coward after all!"

Gwaine smiled again, that lethal smile, and I thought his dimple was completely unfair. "My lady, the first time I saw you, you were tied and beaten, but shouting insults at an armed man three times your size who happened to be holding a dagger to your throat. You had his blood under your fingernails. There is not much you could do to convince me that you're a coward." His eyes twinkled with mischief. "And the first words you spoke to me prove that you have excellent taste."

With horror, I remembered that in my concussed state, I'd told him he was pretty. I blushed so hard I'm pretty sure I could have set off a fire alarm. "Oh, my God."

"No, just Gwaine, my lady."

I slapped his arm. "I will never compliment you again. If your ego got bigger, you wouldn't fit in the castle any more. Besides, that was obviously something I'd never say otherwise. Hitting my head must have made me confused."

"Obviously." He was laughing at me.

I straightened and started walking again, pretending my face wasn't on fire. "And no more of this lady stuff. You sound like a Jane Austen novel. Just Mina."

"I don't know what you're saying half the time. But sure thing, sweetheart."

"Oh! And no nicknames. I hate nicknames."

"Women _love _nicknames. How about I call you darlin'?" As annoying as he was, he was very dangerous to my equilibrium.

"No."

"Precious?"

"Ugh. No!"

"Flower?"

He continued this way all the way back to Gaius', getting more absurd with each suggestion. The laughter helped me forget my aching body, at least somewhat. "Thank you for walking me back. And Gwaine?"

"Yes, dumpling?"

I stopped dead in my tracks. "Don't ever call me dumpling again, or I'll throw you out a window."

"Threatening a knight of the realm is a very serious offense."

"Not a threat. A promise." I grew solemn and put my hand on his arm. "In all seriousness, I want to say thank you for coming to my rescue. Screaming was the only hope I had. Killing me was only one of the terrible things they would have done to me. I owe you my life." I had to pull on his shoulder and stand on my tiptoes to kiss his cheek. This lack of height was bloody annoying. Good thing I didn't have a volleyball scholarship to maintain here.

Gwaine's smile was gone. "I am just beyond grateful that we heard you and were able to reach you in time. Men like Bruin think being big and having a sword means they can take what they want and do what they want. And while I'd gladly die for Arthur or to protect Camelot, our most important job as knights is to stand between men like Bruin and the people that they would hurt." His dimple reappeared. "Besides, I just got the best thank you I could imagine. He sketched a cocky little bow and walked away whistling. "See you around, dumpling." I looked around for something to throw at him, but I was too late. Yes, that one was dangerous.


	8. Much Discussion

_AN: Hello, Gingeraffealene! I love always seeing your comments!__This chapter is a transition, and the next one is one I'm really looking forward to. I feel like I say that a lot, but it's true!_

CHAPTER 8: _Much Discussion_

The king and council had an official meeting after I left. When the doors had closed, Arthur had everyone come sit around the large table they used for such meetings. "We have three items to address today," he announced, standing with one forearm leaning against his chair. He was a man of action, and needed to walk a bit more before he could be still. "Though Gaius believes that Lady Mina will regain her memories in time, she may have family looking for her. We need to send word in every direction to try and locate them."

"I can undertake that, sire," offered Gaius. "I have a feeling that Queen Annis might be our best bet."

Arthur was surprised. The two women looked nothing alike, but perhaps Gaius saw something he didn't, and besides, it was in the same general direction from which Mina had arrived. Nodding, Arthur moved on. "We also need to clear out these bandits. They have tormented our citizens and those seeking trade for too long. Bruin may be dead, but they will quickly regroup."

There was a long discussion where the more conservative members of the council argued that it would take too much work, too much manpower, but eventually Arthur prevailed. He had finally sat down. "There is one more item we must confer about today: the eyes in the woods." More than one of the councilors looked uncomfortable.

"Sire, why are we giving credence to what sounds like nothing but the imaginings of a frightened young woman?" asked the ancient Lord Oliver.

"Did she seem frightened to you?" argued Gwaine, who had rejoined them.

Gaius spoke up, forestalling more comment by the quick-tempered knight. "Actually, she was remarkably composed given what she's been through. She did not exaggerate the details of the attack, as far as I can tell. Maybe she did see something in the darkness."

"It's not just her words," admitted Arthur, rubbing a knuckle against his lips. "We have received many strange reports from our spies near the area. A feeling of being watched. Moving shadows. No wild animals will come to the area. One man said the things watching were spiders the size of wolves. There are too many reports from too many sources – many from hardened warriors – for us to discount it." Merlin, standing behind Arthur's right shoulder, exchanged a worried glance with Gaius. They both knew who would be needed if there was a magical threat to the kingdom.

"I had hoped that this was something the bandits were doing to scare people into traveling through the territory they have claimed," explained Arthur. "Then, early this morning, an emissary came from the conclave of the villages on the edge of our territory and the hinterlands. You all know how they refuse to ask for protection or help, how independent they are. Well, they are asking now. Merlin?"

Merlin showed in a man in rough, warm clothing, including a coat that started its life as some shaggy gray animal. Though Arthur had titled him an emissary, he looked to be a shepherd. His voice carried the rough burr of the north. "Please tell the council what you reported to me this morning, Baldur," requested Arthur.

The man seemed ill at ease but answered readily. "Aye, milord. We've been unable to use the outer pastures we normally prefer because there is an evil presence there. If we do go, livestock disappear. And don' say it's wolves or bears. We know wolves and bears. In some areas, there isn't so much as a songbird any more, and still our animals disappear. There's no carcasses to be found, no signs of blood, yet they are gone. It's a rocky area, so there ain't much for tracks, but what we've found," he shook his head. "They look like a child's bare print, but they are too narrow, far too long, and have seven toes. Then a few days ago, Angus and his boys took their flock out anyway. Pasture is scarce and he were desperate. 'Sides, his four sons are as big as a bear themselves. They figured they'd kill whatever it was. Weel, they and their 12 sheep never came back, and there's no sign of them anywhere. We're not a people that gets scared, but there's something out there we don't understand. We've fought beside you in yer wars, and now we're askin' for yer help."

"Thank you, Baldur. Camelot will come to your aide. Rest for a few days. I'll have our response before you go back." The man inclined his head Arthur, nodded to the rest of the council, and let a guard lead him back out.

In the end, it was decided that Gwaine would head up an effort to find the bandits' hideout. He would take patrols through the area in unpredictable patterns, going out daily until the stronghold was located, then they would plan an assault. Leon would head up north and investigate what was happening in the hinterlands. Arthur himself really wanted to go, but there were many important duties coming up, and he reluctantly handed over the responsibility. Merlin was torn, too. He felt he should go, being their best bet against a magical threat, but hating to leave Arthur's side. Honestly, nothing good ever happened when the king was without him! In the end, he decided to stay put for now.

I was blissfully unaware of the angst going on. I had met a goddess on earth by the name of Gwen. She had showed me to me room – sorry, chambers – which were the size of a presidential suite at the Hilton, I swear. She was super sweet and actually listened when I told her to just call me Mina. Then she'd had a bath brought in. She had put snacks within reach so I could nibble _while I soaked. _She came back when I was all finished and lounging, finding me spreading on the lemon-scented concoction Gaius had given me to help my bruises and soreness. I covered my jaw, still the most painful, and my arm, in what Gaius had called unguent, a gray goop the consistency of snot. She had the bath removed and offered to spread the stuff on my back, so I plopped my lazy self face down on the really comfortable bed and let her. It reminded me a little of going to trainer when I got injured, and whatever that stuff was, it worked better than Ben-Gay and smelled a thousand times better. When Gwen was done, she laid blankets over me that she'd warmed in front of the fire and I may have asked her to marry me. I may not really be a lady, but I could learn to live like this.


	9. Finding Trouble

_AN: Readers are thinking, stop adding so much so fast, Woomie. I'm thinking, finally some freaking action!__So sorry, knights._

CHAPTER 9: _Finding Trouble_

_Four Days Later_

_A small meadow half a league from the attack on Mina's party_

Gwaine looked at the man in front of him with satisfaction. He had patina of someone who was living in primitive conditions and the callouses of a man who lived by the sword. He glared defiantly at Gwaine as the latter looked at the mask in his hand. "You have a mask like the bandits we're tracking often wear," he commented. The man pulled uselessly against the two soldiers who held his arms.

"So?" he asked, but there was some fear in his face. Raiding inside Arthur's kingdom was an offense punishable by death. Everyone knew Camelot's king was protective of his people.

"So, it's odd that you are bringing a load of weapons into such a dangerous territory, and carrying such an incriminating mask."

"It's...not a mask. It's...just..." he went from defiant to close to panic in 2.2 seconds when Gwaine mentioned the mask, he noted.

"Where are the weapons coming from? Who is supplying the bandits? Who is paying you?" Gwaine hammered at him.

"I...I don't know..." Just then, one of the soldiers Gwaine had posted on a nearby ridge cried out. Then, they were overrun. Black-clad men poured over the ridge, and Gwaine was suddenly fleeing for his life. Pulling a stumbling soldier to his feet, Gwaine slashed at one enemy without stopping his flight. It killed him to run from the cowards, but they were greatly outnumbered, not to mention under strict orders to come back and report their findings and _not _try to take on the entire cabal. Arthur had made that order very pointed, almost as if Gwaine liked defying the odds.

An annoyingly fast attacker swung wildly at Gwaine, forcing him to duck. "Geraint, with me! Let's give our boys some cover!" Gwaine called to the only other knight he'd brought along. Gwaine threw the mask to the young man who he'd pulled up and gave him a shove away. "Tell Arthur about the weapons coming in and that the mask is probably a way they identify their allies." The boy hesitated, and Gwaine blocked a strike and another low from a couple of opportunistic bandits. "Go! Now!" He ran, along with the other soldiers. At Gwaine's side, Geraint ran one attacker through and punched another in the temple with his left hand.

Gwaine pulled his dagger in his off hand and slit one throat, the spun his sword to parry a stroke so hard the follow-through penetrated his attacker's chest. The fight had gotten tighter as more men poured into the small valley. Enjoying himself despite being vastly outnumbered, Gwaine punched one man, breaking his nose, dodged one diving at him, and kicked the attacker as he went past. Next to him, Geraint tripped, his sword trapped beneath a fallen body, so Gwaine stabbed the man standing over him and nabbed a sword from a fallen body, tossing it to Geraint. Geraint returned the favor by throwing his dagger into the throat of a man behind Gwaine. Caught up in the insanity of it all, the men grinned at each other before spinning to fight back-to-back.

Geraint had been born with a silver spoon in his mouth, but he had the soul of a brawler, and fought with the same abandon as Gwaine. The man, one of the oldest of the knights, had only grown harder and tougher with age. There were few Gwaine would rather have at his back in a fight such as this.

With that thought, Gwaine called out, "C'mon boys! At least make a challenge!" The knights jumped into the fray with renewed vigor, together against a sea of attackers, laughing as they went.

_A hill just before the edge of the hinterlands_

Leon halted the men, looking down at the Tierling Forest below. It was a dense growth area, always dark and imposing, but now it the gloom seemed completely impenetrable. Not a single bird chirped or insect flew, and a feeling of dread pressed down on the men. "We will camp just outside the forest," announced Leon. "We are too exposed up here." He started to walk his horse, but no one else moved.

"Sir Leon...can't you feel that?" asked one.

Leon turned his horse back to look at them, and saw fear on every face. "King Arthur has tasked us with finding out what is threatening some of his people. You can head back if you wish, but I will do the king's bidding and help the people who live near here. I will not abandon them." He started to make his way carefully down the slope without looking back. After a pause, every man followed.

They were setting up camp in the growing dusk when the eyes appeared. A sentry cried out, and they all pulled their swords. Shapes straight from a child's nightmare crept out from the forest, and Leon had the passing thought that he understood why some people had talked of giant spiders. Every part of them was out of proportion, like shadows distorted in the moonlight. They were all long, lean limbs, arms longer than legs, some on all fours, some upright. Their hands and feet were narrow but stretched, with fingers and toes gripping the uneven ground. Their rat-like snouts were overly full with needle teeth. Though they were skinny, almost stringy, and only stood as high as a man's mid-thigh, there were hundreds of them slinking out of the trees. Their movements were eerily in sync, as if the horde had just one mind.

Far below the earth, a demonic creature stirred. "So many eyes," it hissed. "Do we see the one who shapes my earth? Do we see?" As one, the creatures rushed forward, swarming the men. One by one, they disappeared under the rush of bodies until there was nothing but a teeming mass of darkness.

_My room, Camelot_

It had been a quiet few days for me. My jaw and arm were now a lovely mix of purple, yellow, and green as the bruises began to heal, and the scratch of my neck was nearly gone. I was only stiff first thing in the mornings now. Only the bump on my head still really bothered me. Everyone treated me with kindness and respect, and – bliss! – I found the library. It would have been like a fabulous vacation, except for the dreams.

Every night I saw impossible things. When I recalled them during the day, my head would throb. Impossible memories would surface at importune times, more and more often as I got more and more tired. The dreams were exhausting me, preventing me from getting any real sleep. Merlin had been an absolute dear, and I was quickly growing addicted to his cheerful greetings and easy smiles. Even though he apparently was Arthur's manservant and Gaius' assistant and often acted as a physician when the latter was busy, he still managed to check in on me every day. He even snuck me extra dessert once in a while. Still, there was something about him that tickled my brain. While I trusted him, it was a trust like I'd known him for years instead of days. I had the feeling that he could do so much more than I knew. I leaned back in my chair and grunted in irritation when my hair got caught. This hair down to my butt was just one more annoyance, one more thing that was wrong. At least my mom would be happy that I finally grew it out. I frowned at the thought, trying to picture my mom's face. Two faces popped into my head, superimposed over each other and causing my head to ache.

Just then, the guy I'd been thinking about did his one habit that annoyed me. He tapped on my door and popped in without waiting for my answer. No wonder there were privacy screens in all of the room! "Mina! Hello." His trademark grin was on his face. Even as I weakly smiled back, I pulled the papers I'd been working on closer to myself. I'd been sketching some of the ridiculous things from my dreams, hoping if I put them down on paper it would excise them from my brain somehow. They weren't something I was ready to share, however.

Merlin shook the vial he was holding. "Gaius thought you might be running low on the unguent, so I made some more up for you."

My smile became real. How could it not? "Thank you. I'm really mostly better, though." I shook my head. "I don't know how you do everything, Merlin. Do you ever sleep?"

He shrugged in that loose-limbed way he had. "Sure." He peered closer at my face. "Do you? Forgive me for saying it, but you look absolutely exhausted."

"Sure," I echoed. He looked skeptical, and I spoke in a rush. "It's just – I dream and dream and dream. They are so vivid, so real. They wake me up over and over again, and even when I do sleep, I wake up as tired as when I went to bed." I rubbed my eyes. Yeah, tired. I hadn't meant to spit that out.

"Maybe it's your memories returning," he offered hopefully.

"No, no, it can't be." In for a penny, in for a pound. And truly, it would be nice to share some of this. _Why _did I feel I could trust Merlin? I had no idea, but I was totally sure. "I dream impossible things. Things that aren't real, that _can't_ be real." I waved at the charcoal sketch I'd been working on. I'm no artist, but I'm pretty good at using simple lines without much detail to get an image across. The picture showed a huge flying machine that people would climb in a cross an ocean. In the background was a skyline full of buildings that would dwarf the keep. They were covered in dots, and each dot was a window. I felt like every single person in the city could fit into just one building. Merlin looked intently at the picture, then glanced at me for permission. I moved my hands away from the stack, granting it.

The next picture showed long, sleek, four-wheeled machines racing around an oval track. I knew nothing pulled them, and they traveled so fast they were hard to see. The next was a small device that allowed you to talk to people a world away. The screen showed you moving pictures, I thought. The next picture was me, but a long, muscled me, shoulder-length hair pulled back in a simple ponytail, about to slam my hand into a volleyball that was flying over a net. The "me" I saw in the mirror felt like a police sketch done by someone who'd never met me. My simple drawing felt more real that the reality I saw each morning.

Suddenly, I felt exposed and raw. I put a hand down on the pile of papers, causing Merlin to jump. "I'm sorry," I said, looking away. "This is just silly rambling. I'm tired and stressed. It's been a long week." I pushed my chair back, stood up, and gathered the papers. I shoved them in the drawer of the desk. "Just forget all of that."

Merlin touched my arm, looking at me with an intensity that was almost intimidating. I suddenly pictured his eyes turning gold and spooked myself even more. "No, please don't be frightened," he encouraged. "Dreams are sometimes more than they seem, and I can see how this would be confusing. Why don't you have Gaius give you a proper sleeping draught for the night so you can get a good night's sleep without dreams? Things will be clearer when you're not so tired."

He was just so _nice_. I looked longingly at the bed. I was so tired. "I don't know...I'm not sure I'm comfortable..."

There was sympathy on his face. "It must be hard to sleep in a strange place, when you're trying to remember what home is like. How about I ask Arthur to post a guard outside your room while you sleep? They could make sure that nobody comes in during the night."

I hesitated another minute. I wasn't sure I wanted to essentially knock myself out, but getting some uninterrupted sleep sounded amazing. I spoke slowly. "I guess...that might be really nice." Happy to have found a solution, he grinned.

"I'll be right back." He hurried off and I shook my head, amazed at his energy. He was back in no time with a bottle of bluish liquid. "This works pretty fast, so don't take it until you're ready to sleep. I'll make sure you're watched over." I nodded, and he hovered in the doorway until I looked up. "Don't worry. You're safe here."

As I got ready for bed that evening, I kept looking at the vial. I wasn't positive about taking it, though I trusted Merlin and Gaius. Still, I was ready to drop. There was an entire citadel I'd hardly explored, and now that I felt good, I didn't want to be held back just because I was so tired. And I didn't want to face any more mixed up dreams full of everything from bullet trains to dragons, baseball stadiums to coronations. I just wanted a little oblivion. Climbing into the heavenly bed, I chugged the draught and fell asleep before I could even open my book.


	10. Waiting for Sunrise

_AN: I hope this chapter makes sense. I'm not ce__rtain of how the next chapter will go, but hopefully it doesn't take me too long to write it. I'd love some feedback on what y'all think. Too much Mina, not enough others? Merlin acting OC at all?_

_Gingeraffealene, as always thanks for your thoughts. You'll have to wait and see about poor Leon. Thanks for your words about bringing our world into Mina's thoughts. I draw some inspiration from Mark __Twain's_ A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court, _but mostly I try to imagine what a slightly goofy, naïve college student would do in this situation.__Optimysta, so glad you're reading! I hope you like it!_

CHAPTER 10: _Waiting for Sunrise_

Sadly, the dreams did not leave me alone. In fact, instead of waking up after every scary or emotional part of a dream, I couldn't escape. Jumping up and down in my parents' kitchen when Coach called and offered me a full ride scholarship. Watching my aunt be crowned after Uncle was killed. Arthur and Merlin lying frozen as what looked like a giant naked mole rat sniffed at them. So excited to ride in a limo to prom. Learning to ride a horse. Learning my parents were dead, but were they my parents? Griffin. Manticore. Laughing with my teammates as we shopped, a car going too fast, riding up on the sidewalk, brakes screeching, too late to dodge...Taliesin? What was happening? Taliesin, what in the name of twisted worlds was going on?

I didn't know it, but Merlin had gone back to Gaius after bringing me my sleep aide. "Gaius, what if Mina has magic?" he asked after explaining about the dreams. "That's how it started for Morgana, with dreams. Or what if she has magic, but forgot when she got hurt?"

"It's possible, I suppose," admitted Gaius. "You're concerned that she will accidentally use magic?"

"Yeah, remember how Morgana started a fire before she understood that it was magic? I'm worried that she could be a danger to herself or even get caught performing magic."

Gaius frowned. "And...?"

"And who could suppress magic or prevent problems better than me? Besides, there's something else I want to see."

So instead of asking for guards to watch my door, Merlin came himself. He knocked and quietly called my name, then slipped in when I didn't answer. He smiled at the sight of the book still in my hand, then lifted it off the bed and set it on the table. Feeling a little bit like he was being a creep being in the room while I slept, Merlin moved to the desk and slid the drawer open as quietly as he could. I never moved, so he took the papers out and moved to a chair next to the low fire to look at them. Glancing my way once more, he invoked a light spell and looked at the first paper. They had gotten out of order when I'd shoved them in the drawer, and now the picture of race cars was on top. He stared at it for a long moment, but couldn't make much sense of it. He just had no frame of reference. The next picture just looked like rectangles with a picture of a face in the center – a cell phone. That one was even more useless. But the next picture had the most detail, and he could easily see that the airplane was something that could fly, and was man-made. The skyscrapers in the background were obviously buildings, but unlike anything he'd ever seen. He spent a long time looking at that one. The next one had a girl about to hit a ball, and didn't really give him anything, except he vaguely wondered who she was to me. He thought she must be a friend or relative, but with the lines giving just a hint of a face in profile, he couldn't see more.

The next picture on the stack was one he hadn't seen before. I'd drawn a cruise ship traveling at an angle to the observer. Merlin realized the dots were windows and went back to look at the skyscrapers. He shook his head; no wonder I told him these were impossible things. But it was the next picture that stopped him short. It was crude, but clearly the Questing Beast. The picture was from the side of the creature, and below it, sword held high, was Arthur. On a rock shelf, looking down was a figure Merlin knew was himself – and it was exactly where he'd been standing when Arthur had fought the beast. Nobody else had been there. Nobody else could have depicted the tableau so accurately. He stared at that one for a long time, waving his hand so his floating light came right above the paper.

Finally, Merlin turned to the next page. And the next. And the next. Kilgarrah inclining his head to a Merlin whose stance conveyed defiance, knights lying on the ground around him. Morgana wielding a sword, hair pulled back, probably in Ealdor. The round table. A close-up of Lancelot wearing a half smile that made Merlin's heart contract. And finally, Merlin's face, his hand held before him, a ball floating above his hand. He looked at the light he was currently conjuring. It was identical. And there was no color in the sketch, of course, but his irises were swirls. Merlin extinguished the light he was holding and leaned back in his chair, completely shaken. _"She's a seer,_" he whispered to himself. "_Like none I've ever heard of."_

Merlin's thoughts ran around in circles for hours. Maybe halfway through the night, when he had finally begun to drift off, I began to mumble and whimper in my sleep. I cried out enough that he stood up and walked closer, wondering if I was okay, and if he could help in any way. Most of what I said was unintelligible, but I started repeating one word that caught him by surprise. "Taliesin," I was saying, over and over, sometimes angry, sometimes pleading. To Merlin Taliesin was a seer who had been dead for hundreds of years, but had somehow manifest himself to Merlin at the crystal caves, the birthplace of magic. He had become corporeal enough to perform a healing spell on Arthur and had insisted that Merlin look into the crystals for visions of the future. He was thought to be the strongest seer who had ever lived. So when I said his name so often and forcefully, Merlin had even more to think about.

He was feeling very guilty for intruding on my privacy, for being in my room while I slept, and for looking at the pictures without permission, so he decided to see if he could help in some way. Thinking it over, he cast a calming spell on me. It was usually reserved for animals or children, since adults tended fight against it if they felt their emotions being manipulated, and end up more upset than they started out. But with me sleeping, he hoped it would help fight the nightmares. And it did. Almost the second he finished casting, I sighed deeply and fell quiet.

Glad he had actually helped somehow, Merlin went back to the pictures. Fighting his guilt, he pulled out some of the most incriminating pictures to take to show Gaius. Rationalizing, he reminded himself that it wasn't safe for me if others saw them, either. He glanced over at the bed one more time and settled himself back in. He'd stay and make sure nothing happened while I slept. His eyes drifted shut.

I woke up before the sun, feeling very grumpy. The waking early was unusual, the grumpy part was not; morning is not really my thing. I'd give both arms for a Starbucks latte macchiato, extra large, extra hot, extra shot! No, one arm and one leg, so I could still drink it. Heck, at this point, I'd drink instant sludge just for the caffeine hit. I pictured a Keurig, then shook my head and looked around the chambers to ground myself in what was real. I was shocked to see Merlin sleeping in a chair by the fire, then I remembered that he'd promised I'd be safe during the night. Finding him there was half creepy, half sweet. Sweepy? Yikes, I really did need coffee.

While I was grateful that the latter part of the night had been fairly peaceful, there was still no way I'd be able to sleep after reliving a fatal car accident 100 times during the night, so I slipped behind the screen and put on some clothes. Gwen, my new bff, had even found me some pants and a belted tunic that didn't feel much different than yoga pants an oversized shirt, though the calf-length fur cape I buckled on over top made me feel like Xena, warrior princess. _Maybe I'll go find some place to watch the sunrise,_ I thought. If I couldn't sleep, it seemed a good alternative.

Merlin never stirred, so I just slipped out. I smirked to myself. His intentions were good, but he wasn't much of a watchman.

I wandered through the halls for a while. I didn't pass many people, just a few servants and a couple of guards, and no one gave me a second glance even though Gwen had told me it wasn't very common for women to wear pants. I wondered idly what this lot would think of my volleyball uniform.

I managed to find my way outside, but I was pleased to find myself in a medium sized outdoor courtyard or garden. Quiet sounded pretty good, but there was an eight foot wall blocking my way to the impending sunrise. In my remembered body, I could have almost touched the top from standing, but that was far from the truth now. However, it was made of craggy, uneven blocks that would be easy peasy to climb. I ditched the cape (a high-pitched voice in my head saying no capes!) and started to climb. It was harder than it looked, but I was a couple feet up when a voice startled me. "Could you use some help, my lady?"

I looked back over my shoulder to see a knight I didn't recognize. Despite the climbing I'd already done, his head came to my shoulder. I stared at him for a moment, but he didn't smile or make fun of me, though there might have been amusement in his eyes. "That might be nice," I admitted, not very graciously. "Could you just...make a step with your hands or something?"

He held up one hand about level with my knee and I looked at it dubiously. It's not like a fall from this height would hurt, but it would certainly be embarrassing. He looked pointedly at his hand, so I gingerly set my left foot on it. When I'd put most of my weight on it, he proceeded to lift slowly until I could easily scramble to the top. That made me feel a little more charitable toward him. "Thank you, Sir...?"

"Percival, Lady Mina. I'm not helping you escape the citadel, am I?"

That made me smile, especially since there was a pretty nasty drop-off just beyond the wall. "No, I just wanted to watch the sunrise. And please, none of that lady stuff. Just call me Mina."

"In that case, Mina," he put a hand on top of the wall and took one giant step to climb up beside me. "If you don't mind?" I would have been really annoyed at how easy it was for him to get up, except that he brought my cape and spread it on the wall so I could sit without freezing my butt off.

"Not at all. I waved my hand expansively. "The sunrise is free to all." We sat in companionable silence for a few moments, then I admitted, "I'd sell my soul for a cup of coffee."

"I'm not certain what that is, but I know there is tea in the kitchen. I could get you some."

"No thanks, but I appreciate the offer. Look don't take this wrong, Percival, but why is everyone so flipping _nice_? I'm a total freeloader here, staying for free, eating your food, and nobody really even knows who I am. Maybe I'm just some nobody who's only pretending not to remember."

He gave me kind of an odd look, but I was starting to get used to those. I got the impression that he wasn't a big talker, so I didn't begrudge him a moment to collect his thoughts. "Well, first of all, it is obvious that you are a lady." His eyes flickered, and I guessed that he silently added, despite_ how you dress_. "But more than that, you were attacked on our land, when you should have been under our protection. Really, all that you suffered is our fault. We owe you recompense for that."

I was shaking my head even before he finished. "So you're a protective bunch. I get that. I saw the reactions when I told the king about the attack. But there's no possible way to cover every inch of territory every minute. This," I waved my hand toward my jaw, "is on the scum bag who chose to hit me, not anyone else. You don't owe me anything."

"We don't see it that way." He turned to fully face me for the first time, his expression open and earnest. "We took an oath to protect, and we failed you."'

"No worries," I said lightly. "I'm here enjoying the sunrise, aren't I?"

He smiled and we went back to enjoying the sights. I may have checked out his biceps a time or two. Hey, I'm a red-blooded female. But our time was cut short when we heard shouts. One voice rose above the others, calling for the knights to go to the throne room. Percival immediately switched to serious mode, nodded to me, and vaulted off the wall. I scrambled down more slowly, but shamelessly followed him. I figured I'd do what the servants did and just stand unobtrusively behind the important people. When we arrived, a filthy, panting soldier was already telling his story.

"Sirs Gwaine and Geraint stayed behind so the rest of us could escape," he was saying, and my heart dropped like prices on December 26. "Sir Gwaine said to tell you that someone is supplying the bandits with weapons. And they are using these masks," he held up a piece of black fabric, and a knight took it and handed it to Arthur, "as proof that they are to be trusted." He put a hand on his side like he had a stitch there. "There are other survivors, but I was the fastest, so I ran ahead to get the message to you."

Arthur's brow was furrowed as he studied the simple mask. "How soon can you be ready to ride out? I know you are weary, and I am sorry, but we need to know exactly where this happened."

Whoa, the king said he was sorry. I was really starting to like this guy. "I just need a sip of water, then I can go, sire," offered the soldier.

"Get something to eat, too. It will take a few moments to muster the knights," ordered the king, and the soldier inclined his head and followed a guard out of the room. Still staring at the mask with an intense expression, Arthur called, "Percival, round up whatever knights are available and meet me at the stables in 20 minutes. We're going to go get our men." He strode from the room, and I was surprised to see Merlin follow him. I ducked my head, feeling unreasonably guilty for sneaking out and leaving him to sleep.

With a lot of others, I watched a surprisingly large contingent of knights ride out with Arthur. Merlin went too, and half a dozen regular soldiers. They were not taking this lightly, but I was still worried. And I really wished I could go with them. I wouldn't exactly be an asset in a swordfight, but waiting sucked.

"They'll be alright," said Gwen from behind me. "The knights are the finest fighters in the kingdom, perhaps in the world."

"I'm sure you're right," I sighed, crossing my fingers so I wouldn't jinx anything, and we turned and went inside.


	11. Rescue Attempt

_AN: I'm worried about this chapter because it's darker than the rest. I actually changed the rating to T. It's also pretty long...I hope it goes over well with y'all!_

CHAPTER 11: _Rescue Attempt _

Merlins' thoughts bounced around his head like dice in a cup. He couldn't stop thinking of my drawings and what they could mean. I'd drawn impossible things, things that couldn't possibly be real, but I'd also drawn actual events that I couldn't possibly have seen. And I drew him doing magic. He was sure I didn't understand the importance of my visions, though they disturbed me. He needed to find out more about seers. Did they usually have other magic? Sometimes? It would help to know who I really was too. Before I lost my memories, was I aware I was a seer? Maybe the accident had brought my seer powers to the fore somehow.

Then, his thoughts would ping over to Gwaine. His friend never saw a fight he didn't think he could win. It was just like him to stay behind so others could escape. Geraint was a good man to have at his side, because he was an utterly ruthless fighter. He would never leave Gwaine behind as long as he could raise a sword. But it was two against how many? For all Gwaine goofed around, laughed, drank, and flirted, nobody fought like him. Yet no man could beat an army on his own. Arthur was certainly taking the threat seriously. They were traveling now with ten knights, not including the king, and fifteen soldiers, a formidable force.

"What's going on in that head of yours, Merlin?" Arthur couldn't resist asking. "You haven't said a word since we left."

"I'm just...sick of these bandits hurting people is all." Well, that, and worrying about Gwaine's safety, and stressing about Mina's drawings. "Besides, I didn't sleep much last night. Some of us have to work for a living."

"Yes, I understand," said Arthur in a lofty voice. "Washing socks is so much more tasking than ruling a kingdom. Certainly takes more brain power."

"Not the way you do it," retorted Merlin instantly. Arthur hid a small smile, having gotten what he wanted.

The banter stopped abruptly when a soldier scouting ahead called back "Sire!" in a shaking voice. Arthur and Merlin hurried their horses to join him on the ridge, then froze in horror.

The were looking down at a round depression that probably used to be a large pond. Dense gorse filled most of it, but there was one large tree growing almost dead center. Hanging one on each side of the trunk were two bodies, suspended by the wrists and just slightly swaying. A nondescript man – average height, medium brown hair, average build – stepped out from behind the tree. His only notable feature was a scar that stretched from one corner of his mouth down his chin and neck and all the way to his collarbone. His voice was smug. "Hello, Arthur. I found some toys you left out. You really should pick up after yourself better."

"Sealgaire," hissed Arthur with malevolence. The mercenary was often a conduit Morgana used to hire footsoldiers and complete unsavory deals. He'd been a thorn in Camelot's side for a long time.

"You killed my figurehead, so I had to make myself known." He sighed theatrically. "I hate doing that. But, let's bury the hatchet, shall we? You can have your toy soldiers back if you come down and get them." He grabbed the one on his left by the chin and lifted its head. "This one's even alive, though he's a little worse for the wear because he really didn't want to answer my questions." Behind Arthur, Merlin sucked in a breath.

It was Gwaine, badly beaten, both eyes blackened and swollen almost shut, blood making a line down his chin from both sides of his mouth. "It's a trap, Arthur," he slurred. "Don't come down."

"He knows it's a trap, but he'll do anything for his men, won't you, little king?" Sealgaire gave a cold, cold smile. "Better hurry though." Casually, as if his actions were of no consequence, he grabbed Gwaine's shoulder in one hand and slid a knife into his belly.

Even in his fury, Arthur wouldn't destroy the horses to ride through the wicked thorns. Leaping from the saddle and pulling his sword, he bellowed, "Knights, dismount! On me!" and they ran into the depression. Bandits poured from the other three sides of the bowl, and others began to shoot crossbows down from the top. Sealgaire stepped back behind his men, laughing as the knights began to falter. But Arthur hadn't charged in without a plan. He had given a subtle signal to Percival, who tore through everyone in his way and cut down Gwaine and Geraint. Arthur himself systematically attacked each fighter in his way, slashing and spinning as he went. He struck one man across the belly, elbowed the next in the face, stabbed a third through the chest. He was an unstoppable force. Still, the knights were close to being overwhelmed until...the soldiers Arthur'd held back ran in from both sides, quickly cutting down the archers. Arthur had told them to range to each side, and now they attacked with a vengeance.

Forced to face knights in front of them and the soldiers coming in from the sides, the bandits soon fell or threw down their swords. But Arthur didn't stop. He continued to take down everyone in his path, controlled fury in every movement, until he was facing Sealgaire – the hunter – himself. But his opponent saw which way the wind was blowing and threw down his sword. "I surrender!" he called. If anything, that made Arthur even angrier. He pointed his own sword toward the one on the ground.

"Pick it up." Sealgaire just lifted his hands in the air. Arthur pushed the sword with his foot, gritting out, "Pick. It. Up." Sealgaire lifted his hands higher and went down on his knees. Seething, Arthur raised his own sword above his head.

"Sire," said Merlin in a voice that was both quiet, yet somehow carried. "Arthur." The sword shook in the king's hand but he didn't lower it. "Arthur, this isn't who you are. You're not like him. You're better." Merlin knew he was pleading, but he didn't care. "Arthur. Throw him in your dungeon, give him a trial, and execute him. But don't do this." Arthur's eyes shown with unshed tears, but his face was pure rage. "Please, Arthur."

"He's right," he ground out, his voice low and growly. "You aren't worth it." He turned to his men. "Secure him."

"Taking orders from a servant?" sneered Sealgaire, but Arthur was no longer looking at him.

"Arthur!" called Percival, and the king jogged over to where Geraint and Gwaine lay, Merlin his heels. "They're _both_ alive," said Percival, who was helping another soldier hold a cloth against the wound on Gwaine's belly. Percival tipped his head toward Geraint, so Arthur knelt by the older man first. He was less beaten than Gwaine, but had two sword wounds, one in his upper chest and one in his leg. Everyone there could see that his injuries were fatal, but his eyes were open.

Geraint's right hand twitched. "Sire," he whispered, a mere thread of sound. "Arthur. Sword?" Understanding at once, Arthur put the hilt of his own sword in Geraint's hand, and a small smile graced the dying man's face. "Privilege," he whispered, then he was gone. Arthur bowed his head, throat thick, but he had other men who needed him. He couldn't look at Merlin yet, knowing there were tears tracking down his servant's face, and afraid he would lose his own composure if he saw. Instead, he moved over to Gwaine.

"His stab wound is shallow," reported the soldier who'd been helping. "And I don't see any other injuries except a bump on his head and...the beating. "I think, Sire, that he'll be fine."

"Here that, Arthur?" drawled Gwaine, opening his eyes. "You won't be rid of me yet." He blinked and rubbed his eyes poor, blackened eyes. "Geraint?" Arthur sat back on his heels and shook his head. Lacking the words to make anything better, Arthur clapped the knight on the shoulder and stood.

"We need to get back to Camelot."

I was standing with Gwen on what she called the upper bailey when Arthur's party came riding back. Gwen's face lit up first, seeing Arthur (that girl had it bad), but then she noticed four of the horses had bodies draped over them. "Oh, no," she whispered, and I grabbed her arm. We hurried like that to Gaius'. Gwen hustled in to help, but I felt lost and out of place. Story of my life lately, I thought. But I was dying to know what was going on. I stopped one dirty, tired soldier.

"What happened? Who's hurt?"

His shoulders slumped. "Dermot and Littles and Sir Geraint are dead. Sir Gwaine is injured."

My heart dropped. Barely able to choke out the words, I said, "thank you" and dropped my hand from his arm. I didn't know any of the men who had died, but I knew their loss would gut the people who had been kind to me. And Gwaine...

Unable to wait, I slipped into the room. Gaius was examining a stab wound on Gwaine's belly, and Gwen was carefully wiping blood from his face. Merlin was helping an injured soldier. "Gwen, I need more yarrow," instructed Gauis. She stood and offered me her cloth, so I took it and replaced her on the stool by Gwaine's side.

"That's a better sight than the last time I opened m' eyes," said Gwaine, startling me so I dropped the cloth onto his face.

"Oh crap, oh sorry." Some nurse I was. He smiled, just a little, and it was macabre on that abused face.

"Still rather see you than Arthur." I started wiping his neck, not knowing how to answer that. "This time, we got the real leader of the bandits who attacked you," he continued. "His name is Sealgaire, and he's in the dungeon by now. They are...allied with an old enemy of ours. But you don't have to worry about them any more." He was grimly satisfied. "They ambushed us, and we lost good men, but whoever is still alive for the bandits will scatter and flee now."

He winced and Gaius said, "I need you to drink this. There is stitching to be done, and you'll want to have finished this first." He helped Gwaine sip something from a small cup.

"He'll be sleeping in a moment," Gaius said to me, with a look I couldn't interpret. "And I'll be stitching. You'll want to step out for that."

I thought about protesting, but the fact was, I _did_ want to step out. There was a fury bubbling up in my belly that I had never felt before. "I'm glad you're okay, Gwaine," I said, placing the gentlest kiss I could on his forehead. "I'll come visit later. I'm just going to go lose my temper now." Though my words were calm enough, I was seething, utterly boiling. I knew for a fact that the girl I had drawn had never felt like this. She'd never wanted to stab a man and watch the light go out of his eyes. She had never felt the need for vengeance; she was so much softer than I was now. _This_ me had trained with a sword, knew how to throw knives. _This_ me was the one who was making friends with all of the kind people who had helped me out. I suddenly decided I was done with that other girl; she was of no help with her remembered technology and cushy life.

I stalked back to my quarters, not noticing the look Gaius gave Merlin as I left, or even seeing how everyone got out of my way as I walked.

Once I was gone, Merlin gave some instructions to the final soldier he was helping with a minor wound, and Gaius sent the man away. "Merlin, close the door," he said seriously. He glance down at Gwaine, but the knight was out cold.

"What is it, Gaius?"

"Have you thought about the fact that Mina seems to be in the middle of everything that has been happening? When she was attacked, it happened to be where a patrol would hear her scream. And it was a small enough group that they could easily rescue her. She was injured, certainly, but not too seriously."

"Not too seriously?" asked Merlin in surprise. "She could hardly move for a few days."

"Yes, it was very easy to feel sympathy for her." Merlin stared at his mentor. "I'm just saying the memory loss has been bothering me. It seems a good excuse to stay in Camelot. Did you see that she was in the throne room when the man from the north gave his report, and when Arthur assigned people to track the bandits? Why was she there? And then, a few days later, Gwaine's party was ambushed. And now, so was a second party."

"That's awfully suspicious of you, Gaius," mused the warlock. "Usually I'm the one seeing plots and you are telling me to be cautious."

"I just don't like the coincidence of Mina's arrival and these attacks." Gaius tied off the last stitch and cut the thread. He looked up at Merlin's frown. "I know you like to see the best in people, and Mina is probably exactly what she seems, but Morgana has used tactics like this before. It can't hurt to be wary."

"I think you're wrong," admitted Merlin. "But it can't hurt to be wary. Gaius, I think she knows about my magic." He went pulled the drawings he'd taken out of the book he'd stored them in, missing Gaius' startled response. "I didn't have a chance to show you these before, but these are drawings she's made about her dreams."

Gaius paged through them until he came to the one that depicted Merlin suspending an ethereal ball. "Are there more?"

"Yes, but nothing else showing magic. Gaius, I'm going to make sure Mina stays in her quarters then tell Arthur our suspicions. I still think she's just...lost, but we have to be sure she's not a danger." Merlin was sad but determined, and Gaius felt a pang for the boy with unwavering optimism who had first arrived at his doorstep.

"Be careful, Merlin."

The warlock grinned. "I always am!" With those cheerful but patently untrue words, Merlin ran out the door.

While they'd been talking, I had burned off some energy stalking around the halls. I kept seeing Gwaine's battered face, and dark mask Arthur had worn as he'd rode in with the bodies of his men. I had no idea how I could help, but my temper wasn't abating at all. I thought again about the unhelpful dreams. They were just a distraction. Whoever I thought I'd been, now I was a woman on a mission, a woman with the tools and skills to fight. I may not be a two hundred pound man in armor, but I had abilities. It was time to put away the distractions. Moving with purpose, I strode into my chambers, pulled the drawings out of the desk, and threw them into the fire. That was when Merlin walked in.

"Lady Mina?"

"Aren't we past that by now, Merlin?" I grumbled, still staring at the fire. I didn't even realize that I was playing with the dagger that he'd given me from the armory to help me feel more secure. "Just Mina, or hey you, not lady."

"I need to know...can you tell me anything about the bandits we've been fighting?"

The seriousness in his voice hadn't penetrated my anger. "They're pitiful, loathsome, cowardly slugs that deserve to die!" _I'm losing it_, I thought. _I sound like a cross between Shakespeare and Gordon Ramsey._

"You don't know where they get their supplies, or who sends them orders? Or why they would ambush a patrol instead of hide?" His voice was quiet, but intense, and I finally turned and paid attention.

"What? I don't know – how would I? I was hardly with them, and a lot of that time I spent unconscious." I rubbed at my wrists absentmindedly, where you could just barely see the lines the ropes had made. I looked at the man I was starting to consider a friend. "What are you asking, Merlin?"

"The bandits are acting out of character, starting with your capture. We're just trying to figure out why."

I stared at him. "Merlin?"

"I'm sorry, Mina. I think you should stay in your chambers for now." He stepped out,and though I didn't see him touch the door, it sprang shut and I heard the heavy lock turn.

"MERLIN! What the heck! Get back here, _right now,_ Benedict Arnold, and tell me what's going on!" I kicked the door, but got no answer. Great, now I was furious, locked in my room, and probably had a broken toe. I couldn't even go check on the beautiful idiot in Gaius' chambers. This day sucked.


	12. Danger Closing In

_AN: Weeeeeelllllllll...I smashed face first into some pretty ugly writer's block. I've written and rewritten this chapter. I know where I want to be, but I'm having trouble getting there. So, in the end, you get a mediocre chapter because it's the only way to force myself to keep moving forward. Blugh. Sorry!_

CHAPTER 12: _Danger Closing In_

I had to watch the death rites for Sir Geraint from my window. It was as beautiful as it was solemn, with the knights standing at attention and the pyre prepared. After the drums went silent, nothing stirred, but the evening breeze teased the edges of the knights' capes and brought Arthur's words up to me. As we mourned, we couldn't know that a noose was slowly tightening.

"Sir Geraint was knighted by my father. The only son of a powerful landowner, he didn't become a knight because he had to, but because he chose to."

_A soldier from Leon's party crept into Camelot, the torches briefly illuminating his completely black irises._

"His whole life was dedicated to defending our kingdom, and he was one of the most loyal men I ever knew. He was my first swordsmaster, and he certainly didn't go easy on me because I was the king's son. He taught me that in a fight, just like in life, you have to give your all or you will fail."

_Far to the north, stuck to the wall like a bug in a million sticky filaments, Leon watched as two more of his men succumbed to the unrelenting pressure on their minds, and their irises turned black. The filaments withdrew from their bodies and the crept away, walking hunched forward like caricatures of men, the voice that had been tormenting them sending them to Camelot._

"He died with a sword in his hand, like he always wanted, and his last word was 'privilege.' I choose to believe he was saying that it was a privilege to be a knight. But if you ask me, we were privileged to know him. Sir Geraint."

_Agravaine's man stepped over the guards he'd disabled and opened the only occupied cell of the dungeon, winning a twisted grin from Sealgaire._

Merlin handed Arthur a torch, and he lit the pyre in silence. A tear ran down my cheek, partly for the brave knight I didn't know, but more for Arthur, and Merlin, Gwaine, and all of the others who were mourning a friend and mentor. I could see Gwaine standing among the knights. Percival on one side and a handsome dark-skinned knight I thought was named Elyan on the other subtly leaned against Gwaine to help him stay upright, but he was there. With a swallow, I turned away from the sad sight. I might be annoyed with the majority of the people I knew in Camelot, but my heart hurt for them, and I understood what drove them.

There was no chance for the friends to mourn, however. As Arthur and Merlin walked back into the keep, followed by most of those who had attended the ceremony, the warning bell began to toll. Stopping dead, Arthur glanced at the knights, looking for his most trusted. But Gwaine was in no shape to help, and Percival and Elyan were both helping him to get him safely back to Gaius'. And Leon, of course, wasn't back from his foray up north yet. "Merlin," directed the king, "find out what has happened. The council and I will await the news in the throne room." Merlin sketched a quick nod and dashed off. He quickly found the answer and had the distasteful duty of reporting Sealgaire's escape to everyone.

Arthur massaged the bridge of his nose. "How did this happen?"

"Um...the guards were overpowered and their keys taken," said Merlin sadly. "Someone from inside broke him out." Arthur immediately ordered the normal searches to take place, insisting that guards search in pairs only, because this was one dangerous prisoner. He even had guards stationed at Gaius' door, worried that the man might come for Gwaine again. Then there was nothing to do but wait for news.

A few hours later, already sick of my beautiful chambers, I was busy picturing myself triumphantly scaling down the wall while humming the theme from _Mission__ Impossible_ when Gwen came in with a tray of food. She looked so sad that I scared her guard by giving her a hug. "It will work out," she promised. "Arthur is fair, you'll see. You won't be stuck here forever." She leaned forward and gave me a secretive little smile. "When he told Gwaine that you were confined to your quarters and Gwaine couldn't visit, he called Arthur a spoiled princess and threw a boot at him."

That surprised a laugh out of me. "I thought Arthur would be more...strict and serious, I guess. I mean, he seems to rule with a strong hand, but, well, I don't know."

"You didn't know a king could be both strong and kind?"

"Oh, Gwen, you've got it baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaad," I teased, and she turned bright red.

"I'm sure I don't – "

I snickered right in her face, and we both laughed, a very needed moment of levity. "I doubt I'm supposed to tell you, but the leader of the bandits escaped from the dungeon. I know you're upset that you're stuck here, but it may be for the best that you have guards outside your room right now."

I was shocked at the news, but hurried to reassure her. "That's not the same guy that grabbed me. He's dead. This guy doesn't know who I am and has no reason to seek me out." She nodded.

"I'm sure you're right."

A few hours later yet, Agravaine walked into his chambers at the end of the night, tired but pleased with the disorder Morgana's plans were causing. He didn't know everything she had planned; she always kept things close to the vest, but it gave him great pleasure to see Arthur's anger and frustration and Sealgaire's release. As he had the thought, the man himself suddenly stepped out of the shadows, causing Agravaine to jump.

"Argh! Sealgaire! What are you doing here?" He hissed, quickly double checking that his door was securely shut. "You need to get out of Camelot immediately!"

"But the chambers of the king's most valued councilor is the last place they'll look. Besides, I have some unfinished business." His malformed smile was so sinister Agravaine had to fight off a shudder. "Our newest ally has failed to come through. I think I need to have a little chat with the so-called Lady Mina." He licked his lips. "She better have some pretty good answers for me too."


	13. Impact

AN: Back at it! Thanks for your _encouragement, as always, Gingeraffeane! "I think I found myself a cheerleader." lol You should be glad you don't have to actually listen to me sing.__Anyway, here we go, finally into the meat of the story. Enjoy!_

CHAPTER 13: _Impact_

I rode up the escalator of Watertower Place on the Magnificent Mile with a dozen other giggling 13-year-old girls. We gossiped, stared in awe at all of the stores around us, swiped our hands at the famous fountains that flanked the escalators, and tried to pretend the tired adults trailing us weren't actually with us. I'd made it on a prestigious traveling volleyball team, and we were in Chicago – the farthest I'd ever been from home – to compete in a tournament. Although they couldn't talk to us yet, sometimes college coaches came to tournaments like this, and I knew I was one of the players they were watching. Volleyball was the first thing I was really good at, and my parents were excited at the thought of scholarships. I prayed every night I'd get to be 6 feet tall. Right now, though, I was loving every moment of the Windy City with my friends. I wanted to stay here forever!

We were almost to the top of the escalator and in a heated discussion about which store to hit next when I saw a man going down three escalators over. He caught my eye and smiled with such malevolence that I shivered. A scar at the corner of his mouth twisted the smile into a strange half-frown. As I looked down at him, he pulled a wicked-looking knife and stabbed the man in front of him, pushing the body off the side of the escalator into the fountain. Nobody else seemed to notice. He stabbed a second man, and I belatedly realized that the people he was stabbing were dressed like they belonged at a Rennaissance Fair.

The murderer was almost to the two I somehow knew were his ultimate target – and they looked so familiar. One was blonde and wore an actual crown; the other was dark-haired and wore a neckerchief. I opened my mouth to yell and warn them, but instead tripped over the ridge at the top of the escalator, to the laughter of my teammates. I looked back, confused, but there were only normal passengers on the escalator now, and no bodies.

I let the horde of girls drag me into a store that sold nothing but mismatched socks, figuring I was imagining things. I was settling in to enjoy the trip to...were we in San Fransisco? Yes, that's right. It was the junior Olympic team. I was only visiting, hoping to try out after my next birthday, but the older girls embraced me like one of their own. We were at a famous seafood restaurant. The PA system crackled to life. "Lady Mina, you are needed on the second level." Slightly weirded out, and feeling like that was the wrong name, I walked up the steps to the bar area, where I really shouldn't be allowed. In the middle of the tables was a small dance area, where a few well-dressed couples twirled slowly. A beautiful black-haired woman smiled at me over her date's shoulder. "An associate of mine is looking for you," she purred, pointing at me with one impossibly long fingernail. "Once she has you, Camelot is mine."

The couple turned so I could see the man instead. He gave me a charming smile. "Hello, dumpling. I think she stabbed me!" He looked like he was, indeed, bleeding from his abdomen, but he never stopped dancing or smiling.

"Stop – " I called but my voice was drowned out by the cheering crowd as I hit a kill for match point. Screaming, my teammates mobbed me. We'd done it! We had Arizona State's first ever volleyball national championship and I, just a sophomore, hit the final shot. My teammates were hugging and crying and basically losing their minds, but I felt removed somehow. I was happy, but it was like a remembered happiness, softened by time, instead of the sharp happy of right now. My coach grabbed me and hugged me so enthusiastically that he lifted me right off the floor, though he was two inches shorter than I was. He was talking but I couldn't hear him over the noise, so he pulled my ear close to his mouth.

"You have to give an interview," he said. "Take the mic."

Someone shoved a microphone into my hand, and I turned to the interviewer, who proved to be an older man with a white beard. He was, oddly, dressed in a brown robe. But instead of asking interview questions, he began to lecture me. "I don't know what it is about you, but you can't seem to let go. These memories are supposed to fade as you integrate into your new reality. I don't like interfering, and I won't do it again. But listen, if you don't let go of your old reality, everyone you're learning to care about in this one is going to die. _Everyone._"

"Wait, what? How do I let it go? I can't control my dreams!"

He spoke into the mic again, as if he really were doing an interview, even though the crowd had disappeared. "You have to figure it out. I'll give you and your friends a push. Be careful, Mina. There is an ancient power here that can sense my magic, and is looking for me...well, looking for you, because she can't comprehend me. She has enchanted an army of kobolds and other creatures to be her eyes, and now she's working on enchanting the men that Arthur sent up north to look into her actions. Merlin is the only one who has any chance of stopping her, so stay out of her way."

"You're confusing me!"

"It's about to get a lot more confusing, although some things will be cleared up too. I'd answer more of your questions, but we're running out of time. How many dreams do you have in a night, anyway? It's almost dawn, so no more time for questions."

"But..." my questions piled up in my head like a logjam, and I could only remember one. "Why are you still holding a microphone?"

"It makes me feel important. And I said this before but, this is gonna hurt." He smacked my forehead and a bunch of things happened at once. First, my mind filled with so many memories and so much knowing from this reality that I thought my head might pop like a balloon. Second, everything around me rippled like the shock wave around a bomb. I woke up with a gasp, in time to see a scarred face leering over me and a fist come at me. "Son of a – !"

At the same time,the first soldier from Leon's group who had been released suddenly stopped dead from where he was skulking through the lower town, his eyes turning back to normal. The man, Maximus, stared around in horror, then ran toward the citadel.

Deep below the earth, an ancient force stirred, sightless face turning up. Its long-limbed army moved as one toward Camelot.

Across the keep, the impact of Taliesin's magic hit Merlin like a tackle, knocking him right out of bed. Scrambling to his feet, Merlin threw on clothes, his mind spinning. He could hear Gaius putting on tea and started talking as he walked down the stairs pulling on his shirt. "I had a vision like the ones in the crystal cave. The dochraid is after Mina and using mag --" Merlin froze as he finally got the shirt pulled on the rest of the way. The person pulling the kettle from over the fire wasn't who he'd expected.

"Gaius got called away overnight," said Gwaine, setting the kettle carefully on the table. "But I'd really like to hear the rest of that sentence."


	14. Prevarication

_AN: Not a lot to say except I really enjoy writing Gwaine interacting with others. :-) If you like (or dislike) something, please comment!_

CHAPTER 14: _Prevarication_

Merlin's mouth formed words but no sound came out. His brain misfired a few times, then he said, "Um, Gwaine, I um forgot you were...your wound feeling better then?" Merlin's heart was pounding, an unreasonable amount of panic zinging through his body. He'd gone all this time

"Merlin." Gwaine took down two mugs without breaking eye contact. "What was that about visions?"

"Visi...tors," prevaricated Merlin. "Visitors for Mina, that's what I was saying."

"Merlin." Gwaine filled the mugs, then set the kettle back over the fire.

Merlin kept talking, his mind thinking up and discarding options for changing the subject, distracting the knight, anything. "And a...doctor is one of them."

"Merlin. Drink some tea."

Merlin took a big gulp, glad to have some excuse to stop talking. He sputtered and choked in shock. Gwaine smacked him on the back a few times. "Wh-what did you put in that tea?!" he demanded when he could talk again.

"You looked like you needed something stronger than just tea." Gwaine picked up a jug and wiggled it back and forth. "So I added a little somethin'." He poured more into Merlin's cup. "Take another drink."

"No," Merlin choked out. "Nope, no thank you. The sun isn't even up!"

"One more," insisted Gwaine, so Merlin took the smallest sip he could, eyes watering.

"That's better. Now sit down." When Merlin obeyed, Gwaine roughly messed up his hair. "Merlin, I'm not from Camelot. In Caerleon's kingdom, magic doesn't have the same reputation it does here."

"Um...?" Merlin was confused.

"Merlin, my mother was a healer. Not a physician, a healer. Understand?" Merlin mutely shook his head. "Merlin, I don't care if you deal in magic. In fact, it explains a lot about you. Like how you protected Arthur from wyverns for one."

"I – I don't know what you're talking – "

"Does Arthur know?"

"NO! I mean, does Arthur know what?" Merlin cursed himself for his wayward tongue. He looked at Gwaine, really looked. There was no stress on his face, no fear, but no doubt either. "You really...don't care?"

"I really don't. Look, Merlin, my mother did her small magics almost every day. The money she made from her healings is the only reason we didn't starve to death. I'm not afraid of magic like Uther was. If you ask me, killin' everyone with magic because some of 'em are evil is like killin' all your horses because one of 'em kicked you." He smiled and drank his own tea in one gulp. "You know how I judge men – by how they act. You think I don't know you're loyal to Arthur, to Camelot, to all of us? C'mon, Merlin."

Relief poured over Merlin. "Nobody knows but Gaius," he sighed. "It's kind of a relief to have someone else know." Forgetting Gwaine's special addition, Merlin sipped his tea again, and choked again, making Gwaine laugh.

Just then, there was a knock on the door and a servant poked his head in. "Merlin, you are needed in the king's chambers immediately. Gaius too."

Merlin nodded. "I'm on my way. Not sure where Gaius' gone to, though. He got called away."

Predictably, Gwaine followed Merlin. The physician's assistant in Merlin noted that his friend was moving well despite his injuries and that the swelling and bruising on his face were greatly reduced. Really, the man healed extraordinarily fast.

Arthur was looking grim when they arrived. He gave Gwaine a glance but didn't protest his presence. Percival was already there, and Elyan walked in right after they did. "Good. You're here. I've sent for Gaius and Agravaine as well, but we'll begin," said Arthur, closing the doors himself. "Everything I share here is completely confidential and not to be shared with anyone. I just finished taking a report from a soldier who traveled up north with Leon. He reports that they were all captured by an army of creatures he called kobolds, that are working for an evil, magical creature that is seeking a specific person in Camelot. He did not know who it is seeking, only that they have some kind of magic. He claims that the creature is taking over the men's minds and forcing them to join the search. I know the claims are fantastical, but he was very consistent in the telling, and has a reputation of having a good head on his shoulders. Leon chose him personally to be part of their trip." Arthur rested his elbows on the table and turned a piercing gaze on Percival and Elyan. "I want the two of you to see if you can locate Leon's party. It's dangerous, obviously, but with just the two of you, you can travel quickly and not be noticed. Leave as soon as you can." He stood and clasped each man's forearm in turn.

"We'll bring 'em back," promised Percival darkly. "Magic creatures or no."

When they'd gone, Merlin asked, "And where are we going?"

Arthur couldn't help but give a little half smile, not surprised Merlin knew him that well. "Sealgaire got out. Someone got him out. I have reports that he's heading east. I'm going to find him and make sure he doesn't have another chance to escape. No more surrender, no more chances."

"And I'm going with you." Arthur nodded.

"I'm going too," butt in Gwaine.

"I don't think that's a good idea," said Arthur at the same time Merlin said,

"But you're injured."

"I'm fine. When do we leave?"

Arthur stood. "Not an option, Gwaine. We have to go fast. We have to get to that coward before he gets to reinforcements. He may be running to Morgana, who is holed up with a small army at Antioch."

"Sounds like you need me to watch your back, then. Unless you think Merlin can do that somehow?" Gwaine turned for the door, ignoring the _what the heck? _look Merlin was giving him behind Arthur's back. "Leaving immediately then?"

"For some reason, I thought more people would listen to me when I became king," grumbled Arthur.

"Maybe you should chop off a few heads," suggested Gwaine with a cocky grin. "Might get a bit more obedience."

"That doesn't sound like such a bad idea." Arthur scowled and stood. "Get what you need and meet me at the stables. I'll get word to Agravaine and Gaius about our true purpose and destination, and have them spread the word that we are making a pilgrimage to honor Geraint."

"Uh, why don't you let me inform them?" asked Merlin, seeing an opportunity to mislead Agravaine. "Then you can let Gwen know maybe."

Arthur considered, then nodded. "Hurry. It will be light soon, and I'd prefer to leave before so as few people as possible see us." Arthur sniffed. "And, Merlin, why do you smell like a tavern?"

Merlin gave Gwaine a dirty look, but when he opened his mouth to explain, Arthur held up a hand. "Actually, that was answer enough." Merlin giving an irritated huff and Gwaine a cheerful grin, they split off.

Arthur nearly collided with Gwen in the hallway a moment later. "I need to talk to you," they both said at the same time. Checking that no one was there to see, Arthur pulled Gwen into his chambers.

"Mina is missing," rushed Gwen, stumbling over her words in her haste. "Her guards are missing and her room is empty. She's in danger and I need to sound the alarm – "

"Wait," interrupted Arthur, putting a restraining hand on Gwen's arm. "We can't know if she's done this on her own. We still don't know if she is for or against us. She may be in league with Sealgaire. If they're allies, he probably broke her free."

"She's not." Gwen was certain. "She doesn't know who she really is, but she's loyal and kind. She's not working against you. She's not."

"You see the best in people, Gwen," said Arthur, not unkindly. "But either way, I'm going to find out. I'm going after Sealgaire right now, with Merlin and Gwaine. If he took Mina by force, we'll rescue her." He ducked his head to look into Gwen's troubled eyes. "You can't tell anyone where we've gone, though. We don't want his allies to know."

"I understand." Gwen stared at him for a long moment. "Please be careful, Arthur. I wish you were taking more men."

"I'll be careful. But I need to make Sealgaire pay for what he's done. Can you wait until I've gone to sound the alarm?" Slowly, Gwen nodded and Arthur dropped his hand. Gwen gave him one more charge look, then left without looking back. She was afraid of what she might do if she stayed another second.

When Gwaine and Merlin reached Gaius', the physician had returned. Merlin explained in as few words as possible while he and Gwaine packed. Gaius insisted on taking a quick look at Gwaine's healing wound. "It's healing well, but I still must advise against a hard ride, much less a fight."

"Well, maybe Merlin can do something to speed the healing," suggested Gwaine slyly.

"I'm not sure what you mean," said Gaius smoothly, not looking up from where he was washing his hands. "He only knows the remedies I've taught him.

"I think you do. Maybe he knows some little trick – "

Gaius took a careful step back. "Gwaine, what are you suggesting?"

"Stop figuring out ways to murder me, Gaius," responded the knight breezily. "I figured Merlin out. I suspected the first time I met him. After all, my mother was trained by disciples of William of Cambria, so...special people visited all of the time when I was growing up." He scratched his chin. "My mother's gifts did a lot of good, saved a lot of lives. Actually, she gave her life to heal others, literally in the end." He gave Gaius a level look. "And I've no doubt Merlin would do the same. Maybe it's good there's someone going along to make sure he's not too quick to do just that."

There was a very long moment of silence, in which Merlin wondered exactly what Gaius would do. After all, they had worked for years to hide his magic from even his closest friends. Having Gwaine know about it felt reckless somehow, but the cat was truly out of the bag. "You're right," said Gaius finally, looking weary. "It may be for the best that someone is watching out for Merlin in that way." He started to place a new bandage over the stab wound. "How long ago did your mother die?"

Gwaine lifted his eyebrows at the change in topic. "Nearly fifteen years. Why?"

"She must have been a truly gifted healer. I've wondered for a while who placed a protection spell on you, and it must have been her. It is truly impressive that it is still so powerful after fifteen years."

Gwaine was, for once, at a loss for words. "A...a protection spell?"

"Yes, it's tied to your necklace. It probably gives you an extra second to dodge a fatal blow in a fight, a feeling of warning if someone's coming up behind you, that sort of thing. It can't protect you from everything, but it certainly helps. You didn't know?"

"I had no idea." He held out his necklace and stared at it in wonder. He swallowed. "Thank you for telling me, Gaius."

"Thank you for watching out for Merlin."

Merlin rolled his eyes at them both. "I can watch out for myself, thank you. And if Arthur heard all of that, he'd tell you to stop being such girls."

"If Arthur heard all of that, he'd probably throw you in the dungeon," Gaius was pragmatic. "By the way, Merlin, why do you smell like a tavern?"


	15. Bandits and Deals

_AN: Gingeraffealene, I've always found the Dochraid to be terrifying! _

_Hamato-Grayson, I'm making squeaky fan-girl noises because I'm so happy that you like it! Thank you for making all of the comments…I adore reading all of them._

_This chapter is kinda slow, but the next one…has an interaction I've really been waiting for!_

CHAPTER 15: _Bandits and Deals_

I was in Sucktown County, located in South Suckville of Suckania. I was face down over a horse with its back digging into my stomach with every step. My hands were tied and hanging down, going numb. The blood was rushing to my head, making my stomach roll. My jaw was aching in the same freaking spot that had just about healed from before. Maybe I needed to piss off someone who was left handed next time. And there was a boot just a little ways from my face. I was on basically on someone's lap, because that wasn't creepy at all. Feeling nauseated for an entirely different reason now, I indulged myself in a few minutes of my form of cursing. I failed swearing 101, so I have my own version. _Crappy crushed swan's eyeballs. Gunky piles of snotty chicken nuggets. Bulbous sweaty purple and orange platypuses. Platypi? Argh. Wallabies! Bulbous sweaty purple and orange wallabies then. _How was this my life now?

I figured that was enough of that, so I put away that part of myself. That girl I'd drawn back a picture of in Camelot didn't have what I needed right now. She'd lived a soft life. Her life had never been in danger. And she hadn't been raised and trained by a queen. Instead, I deliberately put her away and called instead on the me who knew how to throw a dagger and complete a mission. I now knew that I hadn't traveled through the bandit's territory by accident. In fact, I had left most of my party behind when they hadn't been willing to follow the route I needed to take. That was one possibility my mentor and I hadn't foreseen. And of course, the memory loss wasn't in any plans. Well, nothing had gone as expected, but I had technically made contact with the leader of the bandits now, as I remembered the description of Sealgaire I'd been given. Time to get to work.

"As attractive as your knee is, do you think I could ride in a different position for a while?" I asked, causing the rider to start.

After a second, he pulled the horse to a stop. "As the lady requests." He dismounted and lifted me down. And though his hands didn't linger or go anywhere unnecessary, the whole thing still creeped me out. Still, he made sure I was able to stand before stepping back and studying me intently.

I lifted my bound hands and rubbed at my jaw. "Hell of a way to treat your ally."

He stared a moment longer, then lifted his dagger and cut the ropes on my arms. I worked hard to keep the relief on my face, but inside my head the invisible Mina put on a cheerleading outfit and began to jump around and wave pom poms while screaming, "Gimme an F, gimme an R, gimme a couple of E's cuz I'm FREE!" No, Mina wasn't my name, was it?

"Ally? I wasn't sure," my captor grunted in a guttural voice. "You seemed pretty cozy in Camelot, _Seraphina_."

"Well, after your associate threw me into a tree, I didn't even know that was my name, much less what I was doing there. He wasn't exactly out to make friendly contact, if you understand me."

"Bruin's an idiot. Well, he was an idiot. He never would have realized that the contact person could ever be a woman."

"And why wouldn't a woman trust a woman with her message? My queen has no problems getting her point across and neither do I. He may have doomed the alliance with his actions."

"His mistake does set us back," Sealgaire admitted. He pulled a waterskin from a saddlebag and offered it to me. Part of me wished for Clorox wipes or something, but I had no time for that. I took a drink, as he'd expect. "What message do you have for us?"

"Oh, no." I started to pace, partly to think, but mostly to get away from his rancid breath. Seriously, it smelled like a rotten onion had a baby with a dirty diaper and left it in the sun for three days. Focus_, Phina, _I thought. _Oh, that's right. My queen called me Phina. No wonder Mina sounded good to me. Dang it, losing focus again._ "No, I'm not trusting some lackey. I want the real boss. Then we can deal. Unfortunately, I didn't remember until now that my queen had sent a gift to show her good intentions. It's still in a false bottom of the donkey cart, I suppose."

"That losin' memory is awfully convenient for you," scowled Sealgaire.

"Actually, it was bloody inconvenient," I snapped, pulling out the I'm-a-noble-and-better-than-you attitude that so few people would question. No matter I was nothing but a foundling raised in the palace, I was good at pretending. "I could have been gathering information on Camelot, getting messages out, and hopefully, meeting the real power here. Now I find myself in the middle of nowhere with yet another brutish moron!"

He backhanded me, hard enough to hurt, but not hard enough to do a great deal of damage. I'd expected the blow, so I was able to let it turn my head, then turn back to give him a glare. I was using the tricks my queen had taught me to throw a man off guard. _As a woman, men will always underestimate you_, she'd told me many times. _You are small, young, and pretty, which will only make them underestimate you more. Make a man angry and then refuse to be scared, and he won't know what to make of you. You will have the upper hand every time_. "Mindless brute, as I said."

He lifted his hand again, and I refused to flinch. "Show me some respect. And tell me the message now!"

"Or what? You'll kill me? You think my queen will ally with you then? You may think I'm a nobody, but remember she trusts me enough to send me on a secret mission." I began to pace again, only licking the blood off my split lip when my back was to him. "Listen, that little gift? It's 5 of the hard forged swords." Our realm was not a wealthy one, but we had a way of forging harder, longer-lasting weapons than anyone else. Only a handful of smiths, guarded every moment, knew the secret, and selling those weapons was the most important facet of the economy. Our potential allies didn't want to use our army, they wanted us to equip theirs. As if we were simply out on a picnic, I sat on the ground and began to finger comb and braid my hair. "My queen must be fairly committed to this alliance, if we can come to terms. She doesn't give those lightly. "

"Get up," grumbled Sealgaire. He hadn't stopped glaring since I'd refused to give him the full message. "You want to meet with Lady Morgana? Fine. But we need to keep moving."

My inner cheerleader came out again, this time chanting _go, me_ over and over. That's what I had been waiting for – confirmation of who was in charge of the whole mess. "We can go after I finish braiding my hair and relieve myself." Ha, I sounded like a queen myself.

Sealgaire didn't argue, but he grit his teeth and swore under his breath. I decided to poke at him one more time. "I know how hard it is to miss an opportunity to abuse someone who is smaller than you," I cooed with false sympathy. "But remember, you need me. We'll just have to find an kitten or perhaps a small child for your to terrorize once we've finalized the alliance." I began to hum as I finished my braid. My brain was churning, but I couldn't let it show. "You must have quite the highly-placed traitor in Camelot," I said, as if making light conversation. Sealgaire only grunted. "Oh, don't deny it. You didn't get out of the dungeon by yourself, or find my chambers by accident. And you have a healthy, fully-tacked horse and full saddle bags. You didn't find that in some farmer's barn along the way. I wonder if Arthur has more family problems."

"Careful, little girl. If you say too much, it won't matter who your queen is or what gifts you brought."

Grateful that the nickname had ignited my anger and burned out my fear, I stood and smiled. "Just idle speculation." After I relieved myself – which he fortunately let me do alone – I took the last step to win at negotiations with a man, according to my queen. _Decide before you say a word exactly what concessions you'll make, and never change your mind. But make him work to get them. Give in reluctantly, and he will believe that he is in charge, which is what all men want. Even if he knows what you're doing, he can't help but feel superior to you. And in that moment, you've won._

I limped over to the horse; after all I wasn't even wearing shoes. "I think...I think you can know the main terms after all. I may have misjudged you." I saw the avaricious light in his eyes and knew I had him. Information was a good as gold to him. "My queen needs the payment, or at least three quarters of it, before delivery of the weapons, which are already complete. And no word of the weapons' origins must ever reach Camelot. It must be kept a complete secret."

The mercenary looked speculative. "And why is that, my dear Seraphina?"

"Because you might lose. And we cannot have King Arthur learn that Queen Annis has allied herself with Lady Morgana."


	16. Chase and Track

_AN: This is long, but finally some action! BTW, the language of Annis' realm is just Irish. Cladhaire is a nasty term meaning coward.__This chapter jumps from perspective to perspective, so I put headings to keep it clear when point of view changes. I really hope it's not confusing.__I'm still loving the comments and suggestions! I also love it when Mina is spunky. Enjoy!_

CHAPTER 16: _Chase and Track_

_Arthur, Merlin, and Gwaine_

Arthur and Gwaine ranged to either side of Merlin, checking for any sign that their quarry had passed that way, though it was unlikely they'd find anything. A patrol had seen a figure from a distance, carrying something, mount a horse just outside of Camelot and head east. It had been gone by the time they arrived and they hadn't pursued, since the warning bell had not yet rung. East was the direction that the fort of Allamar lay, where Morgana was holed up.

Merlin had a horrid feeling that they wouldn't find them in time, that Mina was in terrible danger. He glanced at his companions again. Both were slightly ahead of him and a ways out to the sides. Focusing, he played a hunch and sent out a mental call. Initiating contact was not his forte, but it couldn't hurt to try. "_Mina? It's Merlin."_

_Mina and Sealgaire_

I was having a very uncomfortable ride behind a smelly bandit with my nightdress hiked up almost to my knees, when there was suddenly a voice talking in my brain. I looked around so wildly I nearly fell off the horse, causing Sealgaire to growl at me. "Shut it," I growled right back. "I'm not exactly wearing appropriate riding clothes here. It's not very comfortable."

"You can ride on my lap," he offered with a dark chuckle. He'd made the offer before, and I'd told him in no uncertain terms that I'd ride on a man's lap right around the time I'd eat my own eyeballs, so I just ignored him.

"Mina? Can you hear me?" Came again.

I had no idea what I could do with that. With a mental shrug, I thought, "_Ye-es? Merlin? How in the hairy hills of Nantucket can I hear you when you aren't here?"_

"_It's hard to explain. Are you safe? Can you tell me where you are?"__"I'm … sort of safe. Sealgaire took me but I've convinced him that I'm an ally. Are we really doing some freaky Miss Cleo telepathy thing?"_

"_I don't know what that means." _I could hear the very Merlin combination of amusement and frustration in his mental voice. "_We're trying to find you. Is there anything you can tell me about where you are?"_

I focused as hard as I could and looked around, trying to project images of what I saw. A headache immediately blossomed but I didn't stop.

_Arthur, Merlin, and Gwaine_

Merlin swayed on his horse. Mina was sending images of everything she could see around her, and they were overlapping with reality, making him dizzy. He quickly straightened, checking to see if either Gwaine or Arthur were looking his way, but they were distracted by an argument over...garlic? Merlin smiled to himself and sent to Mina, "_Stop! Stop with the images. It's too much, and I can't see anything that will help me find you, anyway."_

_Mina and Sealgaire_

I was relieved to get his message, as the pain getting out of hand. "_I did try to leave a message," _I thought. "_By a stream that had a dead tree that made kind of a 'u' shape. I drew an arrow."_

"_I'll try to find it,"_ Merlin replied. "_There is –_ " his mental voice cut out as the pain became too much of a distraction for me to hear him.

"Stop now. Stop the horse!" I shouted out loud. I didn't really wait for the horse to stop before tumbling off, probably flashing him in the process. I fell to my hands and knees and threw up everything I'd eaten. I threw up so hard I might have thrown up stuff I'd eaten weeks before. It finally stopped, and I registered feet a little ways away.

"What's the matter with you?" demanded my captor.

"Head trauma," I ground out. Despite my misery, I dredged up my best genie impression from the original Aladdin. "One to many hits from the snake." I stood and held out my hand. "Water." He handed over the skin with visible reluctance, and I made sure to pour it into my mouth without touching it to my lips. I rinsed, spit, and did it all again, and handed it back.

"You done?" he asked with distaste.

"You're a real gentleman, huh?" I wiped my mouth on my shoulder, not having to feign dizziness. "I can't go farther right now." This could be good, slowing us down, so Merlin and his posse could catch up.

Sealgaire looked around us. He wanted to argue, I knew, but he probably didn't want me puking on his back either. "We're almost there. You can rest once we get there."

Swallowing my nausea, I tried to send a quick message to Merlin, but all I got out was "_sick_" before I felt like I was going to pass out. I couldn't risk that while I was hanging out with Sir Psycho. Not finding any way to slow us further, I very reluctantly turned to get back on the horse. That's when I saw the eyes in the forest, and every single one was trained on me. Sealgaire froze, then practically threw me on the horse and jumped up in front of me.

"We can get to Morgana's men," he said. He kicked the horse, lifted two fingers to his lips and blew a piercing whistle. We rode at a run that was probably unsafe through the trees, and certainly not safe for me hanging off the back of the horse. In just a moment, though, we burst out of the trees into a cleared area. Ahead of us was a crumbling keep with armed men that I assumed were Morgana's pouring from it, presumably called by Sealgaire's whistle. I looked back and saw hundreds of what I would call Slenderman's rabid dogs running at us from the trees. And I thought the day had started poorly.

_Arthur, Merlin, and Gwaine_

Merlin veered to his left. "Hey, guys," he called, "I hear running water. Let's find it so we can refill."

"That's not a bad idea," said Arthur. "If they crossed the stream, we may find some tracks."

"Even if we do find tracks, how do we know if it's theirs?" argued Gwaine, though he was already turning his horse to follow.

"Do you ever simply do as I tell you without arguing or complaining?"

"You'd get pretty bored if I did that."

Merlin cut in, "Is this going to devolve into another useless argument? Because four is my limit for one trip and we're at … eight I think."

"We're not arguing," argued Gwaine. "We're bettering ourselves through intellectual discussion."

"Merlin wouldn't understand," said Arthur loftily. "His idea of bettering himself is finding the bottom of a tankard."

"I learned that from Gwaine," sniped Merlin instantly.

"That's harsh, mate," complained Gwaine, "but probably true." Instead of replying, Arthur held up his hand for them to stop. He dismounted and studied something on the ground.

"Someone crossed here, very recently," said the king. "And look at this." Someone had arranged a bunch of twigs into a big arrow, pointed across the stream in the direction the tracks were headed. "And this, here." A light-colored rock had been used to mark words on to a larger rock. It read: _LM merleacha fheistiú. _

"LM is equipping bandits," translated Gwaine. "It's in a language only used in Annis' land." He shrugged at Merlin's questioning look. "I grew up there, remember?"

"LM might be Lady Morgana," guessed Merlin.

"And it might be a trick from Sealgaire," cautioned Arthur. "His name comes from the same language. It actually means 'hunter.'" He smirked at Merlin's surprise. "A prince learns at least a little of each language of the five kingdoms. Like we said, Merlin, we're learned men."

"Glad there's something useful under your crown," grumbled Merlin under his breath, making the corner of Gwaine's mouth to quirk up.

"Shall we follow the tracks, o learned one?" asked the knight, dodging the half-hearted punch Arthur threw at him.

"Come along, you disrespectful cretins."

They mounted up and rode for just a minute longer when Gwaine asked, "Do you smell that? Someone was sick here." Before anyone could respond, a piercing whistle split the air. As one, the three men kicked their horses to a run.

_Everyone_

Despite our horse's speed, the demon dogs were catching up fast. As creepy as they were, I wasn't sure that being in the midst of all of Morgana's men would be better. The first of the dogs swarmed around our legs and the horse reared up. Two of the men had reached us and began to hack at the dogs. The horse danced sideways and the new vantage point put me in perfect position to see Arthur, Gwaine, and Merlin emerge from the woods. "Stay back, Merlin," called Arthur as he and Gwaine drew their swords. I decided that the chaos could be my opportunity. I took a deep breath, pulled Sealgaire's dagger from his belt, and clocked him in the head with the hilt. While he was unbalanced, I pushed him off the horse without hesitation or regret. In fact, I may have smiled, just a little.

I wheeled the horse and did my best to head toward the guys from Camelot, but the dogs were laser focused on me.

Arthur leaned low off the side of his horse, skewered two of the dogs with one strike, and allowed them to slide off his sword. Gwaine stabbed straight down into the spines of three in a row and spun his horse to the right to cut down a foot soldier that was threatening Merlin. A dog-hand grabbed my right calf – why the hell did the creepy dogs have hands? – and another got a handful of the hem of my nightdress. Then all of the dogs right near me blew back as if I were at the epicenter of an explosion. Shocked, I locked eyes with Merlin, who gave a tiny shrug. I noticed in passing that none of the dogs approached Merlin at all, seeming afraid of him.

Arthur was in the midst of a circle of men, but he moved in a deadly dance. He and his sword and his horse were one, spinning, stabbing, mowing down anyone who came too close with strength and grace. His moves were classic, the forms he'd been taught, executed to perfection. Gwaine was just as dangerous, his motions less fluid and predictable, but he changed his motions and the directions of his strikes faster than he should have been able to. He adapted to each opponent effortlessly, impossible to catch or disarm. I could have watched them all day if I hadn't been fighting my own way through a writhing, grasping swarm. I could tell that Merlin was flicking the dogs away from me whenever he could, but he had to watch Arthur's and Gwaine's backs too, and he couldn't be seen by anyone. He made a blow aimed for Arthur's back deflect off his pauldron instead and sent a thrown lance off course so it hit one of the men on the ground instead of Gwaine's horse.

If I could just get to my rescuers we'd have a good chance to flee, since we were the only ones on horses. But then Arthur saw Sealgaire, and he yelled across the melee: "Sealgaire? You should be called _Cladhaire._ Face me, you coward!"

Sealgaire, who'd been retreating toward the keep, whirled with an inarticulate shout, running toward the king. Arthur leaped off his horse, and Gwaine and Merlin exchanged identical looks of frustration. "I've got his back," called Gwaine. "Get Mina!" He too jumped off his horse to cover Arthur's blind spot.

Sealgaire reached Arthur and the two exchanged furious blows. The bandit was used to quickly overwhelming opponents with his speed, but Arthur parried every blow and returned them with strikes that were just as fast but stronger. The sunlight catching his blond hair and glinting off his chainmail, Arthur looked like an avenging angel as he steadily beat Sealgaire back, sword spinning and unrelenting. Gwaine was his dark counterpoint, at his left shoulder, keeping three and four men at once from getting close enough to Arthur to interfere. Gwaine struck like a snake, deflecting and inflicting small wounds before his opponents knew he was there, doing just enough to give Arthur space. Nobody could touch either of them.

Then, suddenly, Arthur's fight was over as Sealgaire, fearful realization on his face, missed a deflection and the king's sword slid into his gut. Pausing just a split second to pull his sword free and think about Geraint, Arthur noticed how the fight had changed. He and Gwaine were separated from their horses by at least 10 men, and more surrounded them. But the kobold dog-things were no longer a factor. They were all heading in one direction.

Meanwhile, I slashed at the dogs with the dagger, kicked them off my legs, and did everything I could, but they got heavier and heavier. They were singularly focused on me.

The weather had radically changed too. The sun was obscured by ominous, rolling black clouds that sparked with lightning. A bolt illuminated the battlefield and 15 men went flying in every direction.

Morgana's spell is actually helping us instead of her of her own men, thought Arthur. He didn't see the fierce concentration on Merlin's face as the warlock tried to even the odds for the outnumbered band. He also didn't see the lone warrior sneaky up behind his servant. Merlin didn't see the danger either.

In my own frantic struggle, though, I noticed. I didn't think, just threw my dagger. It flew true, sinking into the men's neck and felling him.

It was my only weapon, but I didn't regret my actions. Merlin looked at me in surprise, and watched in horror as the weight of all the dog things pulled me from the horse.

Struggling futilely, I watched the sky disappear as I was buried in the mass of bodies.

Arthur and Gwaine reached their horses as lightning struck again and the wind rose so sharply some men were literally blown off their feet.

"I lost Mina! The kobolds took her," cried Merlin as his friends reached his side. "She saved my life and I couldn't help her."

To his credit, Arthur never hesitated. "Let's get her back."

The three spun their horses to follow the horde, their flight covered by one final lightning strike.

What was one more seemingly impossible quest?


	17. Onward

_AN: It's been really really busy, but I punched out a short chapter to keep things going. Gingeraffealene, I like badass Mina! And Merlin too. :-)_

CHAPTER 17: _Onward_

This time, the trail was unmistakable. The mass of kobolds was large enough to trample a path as they went, and they made no effort to hide the signs of their passage. They moved faster than you might think, however. The tired travelers rode hard, but still didn't catch up. As dusk threatened, they began to find a different way to mark the path.

"What killed them?" Merlin asked uneasily. Arthur and Gwaine were looking at a kobold carcass. It was one of maybe two dozen they'd seen, and Arthur decided they should investigate.

"Yeah, it would be good to know what's tryin' to kill us too," Gwaine had agreed.

"No injuries," mused Arthur. He prodded it with its sword, turning it over. "This thing is emaciated."

Gwaine scratched at him beard. "It's like it just dropped dead of hunger." He looked at a few more. "They're all that skinny."

Merlin shivered. "It's like they were so focused on what they were doing that they never stopped to eat. What could make something act like that? A whole bunch of somethings?" Or_ who? With what kind of magic?_ he thought. _Who could be that cruel?_

From time to time, Merlin called out in his mind, _Mina? Can you hear me? _All he got back was a sort of confused static. He interpreted that to mean she was out there, she was alive, and she was trying, but she couldn't answer. Maybe she was tired or too far away, he didn't know. But he kept trying.

They rode in near silence until the stars rose, finding more and more of the bodies. Merlin felt a cloying sense of sadness. The kobolds weren't in control at all, and whoever was driving them to act was doing so without the slightest care about their well-being. He found himself trying to, for lack of a better word, scent the magic being used. Sometimes, he could get a sense of who or what was behind a big spell. He could get a feel of the intent behind it, too. It didn't often work very well, though Gaius told him that there were some practitioners who were very good at it. But all he got was a dark, loamy kind of feel, like turned earth, and a sense of malevolence. It seemed vaguely familiar, but he couldn't place it.

"You with us, Merlin?" interrupted Gwaine's voice.

"Yeah, sorry. Just tired." He remembered Gwaine's wound and immediately felt a little guilty. "How are you? Does your wound hurt? Fighting couldn't have helped it."

"It feels great." Arthur gave Gwaine a disbelieving glance.

"You need to tell us if we're pushing too hard, Gwaine. I'll not have your recovery set back."

"Aw, are you worried about me, Arthur?" There was a familiar, teasing tone in Gwaine's voice, but there wasn't pain or fatigue. He chuckled at Arthur's wry expression. "Seriously, Arthur, it feels wonderful. I don't know what Gaius did, but it feels like an injury that's weeks old. It pulls a little, but it doesn't hurt. Don' worry. I can still watch your back and protect your royal backside."

"Merlin, why did you invite him along?"

"I didn't. He just kind of shows up like a sad puppy and it's too hard to say no." Merlin leaned back against his bedroll and smiled at the comfortable camaraderie.

"More like something stuck to the bottom of your boot that you just can't scrape off."

"Oi! You were happy enough to have me watch your back earlier! And what would you know about cleaning boots, anyway. Merlin not only cleans your boots, he probably sprays them with perfume so nobody knows the king's feet smell like a dead badger."

Their bickering faded as a quiet voice spoke into Merlin's mind. "_Merlin?_"

"_Mina! Are you okay? Do you know where you are?"_

I sent back an image of the cave entrance where I'd been dragged, then a picture of the hideous creature that I'd been brought to, gnarled skin where her eyes should have been and yellow, unnaturally sharp teeth. I could hardly get the pictures to Merlin before I felt the connection begin to fade.

"_We're coming. Hang in th – "_ Then the connection was gone. Merlin tried over and over to re-establish the contact, but he couldn't. Revulsion rose in his throat at the thought of the dochraid. It was a creature of the earth, of a primitive magic. It delighted in its own power and cared nothing for lives. The image of its eyeless face in his mind, Merlin didn't sleep well that night.

By unspoken consent, the three were up and moving by the time the sun was up.

The woods soon gave way to craggy, black-stone hills that arched up from the ground like giant spines. Merlin strained his eyes as they went, looking for an aperture that looked like the opening Mina had showed him. Soon, it was too steep for the horses to continue. Over one rise, there were about two dozen kobolds, not dead, but simply standing and lying around. Arthur and Gwaine pulled their swords, but Merlin called, "wait!" He ran over to one that was just lying on its side, panting. "They aren't doing anything. It's like they are waiting for something."

"Like what?" asked Arthur, striding around the immediate area with his sword still drawn. Gwaine looked at Merlin, who tried to gesture with his eyes. Though the knight could be incredibly tone deaf to hints sometimes, this time he got it right away.

"Hey, princess, look over here." Gwaine walked down the side of the ridge just out of sight, and Arthur followed. As soon as they were out of sight, Merlin whispered a spell to break the binding he guessed was on the kobolds. His last word still hung in the air when they all stood – though wearily – and went out of sight.

"Hey guys, all the kobolds are suddenly leaving," called Merlin, as if surprised. They came running back, but there was nothing to find. Soon, they were walking again. Merlin watched closely, but Arthur didn't show any signs of suspicion. So on they traveled.

"And the whole toe got like purple and black, and I thought it was going to fall off..." Gwaine was saying, ignoring the disgusted look on Arthur's face. "The top cracked and this pus started – "

"Shut up, Gwaine!" interrupted Arthur.

"No, but the skin broke and – "

"GWAINE!"

Then the ground broke beneath them and they all fell down, down, down into the earth.


	18. Underground

_AN: Eep! The chapter was getting too long so…sorry / not sorry for the cliffhanger. Gaylelbf, good to "see" you here. Gingeraffealene, hang on to your hat. The dochraid is just as evil and nasty as you'd expect…or at least I hope I portrayed her that way! Also, I was starting to feel bad for the kobolds too, so I went back and added Merlin releasing them. I feel like he'd be sympathetic.__So, anyway, enjoy! And I hope you laugh at the embarrassing situation I stuck Mina in._

CHAPTER 18: _Underground_

Whatever the eyeless creature was, it was powerful. I was pinned to the floor by nothing. I couldn't move, could do nothing except blink. And time was compressed or perhaps just my body was, because I didn't need to blink or pee or anything. I just had the feeling of being suspended or paused or something. In a way, it was kind of a blessing. The horde that had carried me here had barely stopped so I could go to the bathroom or take a drink, and I'd eaten nothing the entire time except a few bitter berries. Without this magic, I would be in misery, well on my way to starving to death or dying of dehydration.

The thing didn't speak to me, not really, but only muttered to herself. She wanted to know something, was trying to find my magic. I could have told her the magic didn't exist, if only I could talk. She shuffled around me, sniffing my skin, even crawling sometimes to set a long-fingered hand against me. It was horrifying, and I couldn't even cringe away. She carried an air of deep menace, or an evil that was deep and abiding. I felt like she was mostly dormant, somehow, like she didn't seek to spread her evil, she just was. It's difficult to explain, but I had plenty of time to think about it.

As I'd been dragged into her lair, I had been brought down a long underground passageway and had seen, to me horror, Leon, Elyan, and Percival stuck to the wall like flies in a spider web. The latter two had watched me go past with some horror, though their eyes were dull in a way I now understood to mean they, too, were under the spell that slowed everything. But Leon never lifted his head, and I feared that he was dead. The creature had paid no mind as her kobold slaves dropped dead from our journey, and I had a feeling that our lives meant no more to her than theirs.

The only thing that broke the monotony of muted terror was when Merlin's thoughts would brush up against my mind. I tried to reply, but I couldn't do that any more than I could dance the jig. If I could have, I would have told him to stay far away from the super freak I was hanging out with. Not_ that he'd listen_, I thought miserably. _Every guy in Camelot seems to have a hero complex._

Time trickled on, then the dochraid – no idea why I knew her name or title or species or whatever – became distracted. "They come!" she growled. "Then let them come all the way to me!"

Down the passageway that lead to us, the ceiling disappeared and the whole space filled with dust. I turned my eyeballs as far as I could. Had I seen someone fall?

"Arthur! Gwaine!" yelled a familiar voice, and my heart jumped with joy and then dropped like a stone. They shouldn't have come!

"We're here!" I could hear the king, but he sounded much farther down the hallway. "We're alright. Are you hurt?"

"Arthur! Elyan and Percival are h – " Merlin's voice cut off as the dochraid stood and pointed a long, gray finger at him.

"I can sense you. Who are you?" As her attention shifted, the pressure on my body eased up just a little, and I turned my head. Merlin was standing facing my captor, covered in dust. I couldn't see him well through the dust and the darkness, but could make out his silhouette. Despite his fall and the menace in the dochraid's voice, everything about his posture screamed defiance and strength rather than fear.

"Run, Merlin," I croaked. It felt like I'd never used my lungs before. "She has Leon and Elyan and Percival – "

"Quiet!" hissed the dochraid, and the pressure increased again. Bleeding balls, that hurt.

"You're safe now, Mina," said Merlin in a voice that was calm and imbued with an authority and confidence I hadn't heard from him before. To the dochraid, he said, "This ends now. No more forcing your will on helpless creatures. No more killing and kidnapping. No. More." He lifted a hand and suddenly my body was my own. Everything ached, but I was free. I crawled over behind him; I had no idea what he could do to that thing, but if he was confident in his own abilities, so was I.

"WHO ARE YOU?" shrieked the dochraid.

"Merlin! What's happening?" called Arthur. He was still too far away for me to see him, but I could hear shifting from farther down the way.

"Stay away, sire!" called Percival suddenly. "Don't get yourself trapped!"

"Sire?" The dochraid's attention was caught. She raised her voice higher. "Who is down there?"

"Don't do it. Don't say it, Arthur," Merlin pleaded under his breath.

But of course Arthur answered. "I'm Arthur Pendragon, king of Camelot. Who are you and why have you taken my men and Lady Mina?"

Instead of answering, the dochraid laughed, and it was nails on a chalkboard. "The Pendragons would kill magic. But now you are in my grasp. _Thig as an talamh!"_

The ground rumbled and a figure erupted beyond us down the way. It came from the ground and seemed to be made of earth and mud and had to be 30 feet tall. It was vaguely human-shaped, with a separation for legs and arms that were long enough to brush the ground. Its "head" was just a lump on top of its body, with no features. Its muddy form shifted and slid around as it moved, but it didn't seem to lose any size. It began to swing massive arms at something I couldn't see, and I knew that Arthur and Gwaine were under attack. A single hit from their giant, unnatural opponent could be lethal.

I had only a second to process all of that, because the dochraid began to laugh again. "As for you," she cackled at Merlin, "I will consume you and consume your magic." The earth above us rumbled and the ceiling just past Merlin started to collapse. I scrambled on my hands and knees, ignoring how the sharp rocks cut me, barely getting out of the way in time.

"Merlin!" I croaked, but he was cut off from us but a huge pile of rocks. I wanted to call out mentally, but didn't want to risk distracting him. At a loss on how to help any of my friends, I sat down to rest and think; my body was truly exhausted. I realized that my hand was resting on something, and squinted to see it was a sword. I had crawled almost all the way to Percival and Elyan, and this must be one of their swords. At least I could do something with it.

I leveraged the sword carefully between the strands holding Percival and the wall and began to awkwardly saw at them. It took time, and it was extremely difficult to ignore the sounds of the fight between mud monster and my other friends, but finally I had one of his arms free. "Thank you," he said in his gravelly voice. "Let me do the rest." I handed him the sword, and he began to cut faster than I had, despite the angle he had to use. I began to search for a second sword, hoping Elyan too had dropped one nearby, but I couldn't find anything.

"I have a dagger strapped to my leg," offered Elyan. "You could...try to get it."

"Okay." I slid my arm into the semi-cocoon he was in, flattening myself against the wall and his arm to do so. The strands were sticky and I couldn't see what I was doing at all, making it a slow, uncomfortable process. I suddenly jumped, realizing that my aim had been off.

Elyan cleared his throat. "Um, that's not, um ..."

"Oh, God. I know. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." I thought maybe I wouldn't have to face dirt man at all, because I would die of embarrassment first. Elyan turned his face to his left and I turned mine to my left so we could make sure there was no possible eye contact. I kept feeling around, pretending that I wasn't feeling up one of Camelot's famous nights. It was hard to move my hand at all because the strands were so tight. Elyan made a little sound.

"Er, it's strapped to the _outside_ of my leg. The outside."

"Yes, er, oh, I found it!"

"Thank God."

"I agree." It was just another minute before I could maneuver the dagger out entirely. I cut his right arm free in silence, wondering how you make casual conversation after an encounter like that. The good news was that it was much easier to use a dagger for the task that a sword. With a loud grunt, Percival pulled himself totally free, and he began to help me get Elyan down.

"We have to help Arthur and Gwaine fight that thing!" said Percival, ripping some of the strands with his bare hands.

"I don't see another sword," I reported. "How can I help?"

Elyan, who was now free, handed me the dagger. "You can't. Stay back where it's safer. Take this. Thank you for freeing me. Don't worry about..."

"Yes, you're welcome," I said quickly, not wanting him to finish that sentence. "But I can – "

"You really need to stay back," reiterated Percival. "Elyan, like our drills."

The dark-skinned knight grinned. "You got it."

They rushed at the rampaging creature. Percival slashed at its ankle area. When it swung a tree trunk arm at him, he ducked and simultaneously threw the sword to Elyan, who caught it by the hilt. Elyan stabbed the thing's leg in a different spot, rolled free, and threw the sword back. Percival had a great opening and struck a mighty blow to a thigh, causing a few fist-sized pieces to fall off the thing.

"Three points for Percival, on the assist from Elyan," I muttered, amazed at their teamwork and ingenuity. As amazing as they were though, I didn't think swords were going to defeat the thing, since the injuries didn't seem to slow it at all, and even the strongest strikes only made small bits fall off. And just one hit from a rottweiler-sized fist would flatten them. I wondered how Arthur and Gwaine were faring.

_Arthur and Gwaine_

Arthur and Gwaine had been quite a ways ahead of Merlin when the ground had collapsed beneath them. Merlin had instinctively cast a cushion of air below himself, but they had been too far away for him to do the same for them, so they had landed considerably harder. They hadn't even picked themselves up yet when they heard Merlin call out to them. "We're here! We're alright!" Arthur had called out, then started to cough. "Are you alright, Gwaine?" he asked more quietly when he could catch his breath.

"Just lovely," drawled Gwaine. "Just climbing out from under a couple rocks that tried to make my landing softer." Arthur heard sliding sounds and squinted through the dust until he could see a figure on the ground. He offered a hand and pulled Gwaine to his feet. They gave each other a silent once-over, trying to assess the other for injuries in the poor visibility. Then Arthur saw something that made him gasp.

"Leon!" The knight was hanging, unmoving, from the wall. They made quick work of cutting him down and laying him carefully on the ground. "Leon, can you hear me?" asked Arthur.

A grating voice pierced the gloom. "WHO ARE YOU?"

"Merlin, what's happening?" Arthur called out. He still couldn't see anyone except Gwaine and Leon.

"Stay away, sire!" called Percival's voice suddenly, and Arthur felt a rush of gratitude that he was at least in better shape than Leon.

"Sire?!" that was the nightmare voice again. "Who is down there?" Leon stirred, and Arthur felt a welling of anger at the sight of the big knight looking so pale and weak.

"I'm Arthur Pendragon, king of Camelot. Who are _you_ and why have you taken my men and Lady Mina?"

There was a harsh laugh, and a bunch of words Arthur couldn't hear, then the ground burst into a creature of horror. "Get Leon out of harm's way! I'll hold it off!" called Gwaine, and charged the giant before Arthur could protest. He didn't like it, but he understood. Pulling the semi-conscious man to his feet, Arthur half pulled, half dragged him to well beyond the impressive reach of the mud creature. As he ran toward the fight, a gargantuan fist? arm protrusion? brushed Gwaine's chest. Even that glancing blow sent the knight tumbling arse over teakettle. Arthur rushed to distract the attacker to give Gwaine a chance to regain his feet.

"Careful," called Gwaine. "It's like hitting rock." The slice Arthur was aiming at an arm was too far for him to stop, and he staggered from the reverberations. Gwaine was right, though hitting it did cause pieces to fall off.

"Any idea what this thing is?" asked the king as he dodged a retaliatory swing, allowing Gwaine to make his own blow.

"I think it's called a golem. I didn't think they were real though."

"So, what's a golem? How do we kill it?"

"It's just a thing of dirt made from magic. It's not alive – it doesn't breathe or feel pain or anything. And it won't ever stop smashing and killing." He slid under a fist, stabbing the wrist area as he went. Next to him, Arthur tried to stab through a foot, trying to pin it down and restrict its movement. But its earthen hide was too tough, and he almost got kicked for his trouble. Gwaine barely shouldered him out of the way in time. "The only thing to do is get it into small enough pieces that it's not dangerous any more. I never heard of any other way to stop one."

Arthur watched a fist-sized piece fall from where he hit it mid-thigh. "I'm not sure we have the time for that."

Gwaine managed to shrug even as he somehow deflected it from smashing him into a Gwaine pancake. "Unless you see way out of here, not sure what choice we have." He smiled that infuriating, devil-may-care smile. "Personally, I like our chances!"

Arthur could already feel fatigue wearing on him from their long journey. "You would," he muttered.

There was no more talk for a while as they fought a war of attrition against on untiring opponent. Half of Gwaine's face was bloody, though Arthur didn't know if that was from the fall or something the mud monster had done. Arthur himself had a left arm that hung deadened and useless. It didn't hurt, but his hand tingled and he couldn't use it. Both men were slower on their feet than normal, too, and couldn't go on indefinitely. But they couldn't flee and leave Leon helpless. As he tried to think of some – any – strategy, Arthur saw Gwaine stumble. A massive leg lifted to stomp down on him, and time slowed as Arthur knew what was going to happen next.

Except it didn't. The monster suddenly turned, distracted by something behind it. Arthur hauled Gwaine to his feet as someone attacked from the other side. "Percival?" called Arthur, catching a glimpse of armor. "And Elyan!" called the big knight back. "Need a little help there?"

_Merlin_

Merlin stared at the fallen rocks, fear and concern for his friends almost overwhelming him. Sometimes the weight of trying to protect everyone rose up in his throat and almost choked him. But he knew he couldn't let his guard down in the presence of the dochraid. She was a predator, a wounded hunter seeking out his weaknesses. Merlin did what he often did when he needed focus. He pictured Lancelot, stepping into the void with a smile on his face, happy to make the sacrifice. Then he thought of the _why_ he acted. He pictured the faces of his friends, of Gaius. He pictured the busy streets of Camelot and the children who climbed the walls to watch the knights practice. He remembered Gwen sneaking food out of the back door of the kitchen to hungry families, Arthur giving orphans work in the royal stables so they didn't have to steal, Percival giving an extra tip to the ugliest barmaid, who made less than her prettier counterparts, Elyan teaching a group of commoners swordcraft, and Gwaine spending lavishly at any booth or establishment run by a single mother. He thought of their bravery and selflessness, and honed his feelings into a sharp focus. Magic, he'd learned, was a great deal about intent. He was so much stronger when he kept his motivation, his inspiration, at the front of his mind.

"You are not who I seek, but I will devour your magic," hissed the dochraid. "I will enjoy it."

"I am Emrys," said Merlin calmly, circling the hag like a prizefighter. "I am magic, and you should fear me."

"Emrys? Pah! You are a child."

"Are you certain? Scent my magic." He swirled a small spell, sending blue orbs of light around the cavern.

The dochraid sniffed hard, then sniffed again. Though her face was drawn into a permanent sneer, Merlin thought he saw a hint of something else in her expression. Trepidation, perhaps. "You cannot kill me, Emrys," she said, maybe a bit uncertain. "I am of the earth." Without warning, she thrust a hand toward him, and a spell of great power crashed into him, pushing him into the wall behind him. He could feel the intent of the spell, to trap, ensnare, and hurt. With a small gasp of pain, Merlin sort of pushed the spell to the side and it released him to slide back down. "Impossible," shrieked the dochraid.

"_Lyft sy ƥe in bǽlwylm ac forhienan se wiðere tídrénas," _intoned Merlin. His outstretched hand shook with strain as he called up three elements at once, water, air, and fire. A tornado surrounded his opponent, swirling with fire and ice. She screamed again, but the tornado flattened and disappeared as she pushed back.

"Don't you understand," she growled, angry and injured. "You cannot kill me! You can fight me while your friends die, but you'll never win!" She sent a blast of pure energy at him, not honing the magic, but smashing it into him like a hammer. She was furious, he could tell, and simply bludgeoned him over and over. Merlin fought to keep a shield, but the battering was taking its toll. He trembled, his eyes watered, and blood dripped from his nose. She didn't let up, but he wasn't beaten. Holding his right hand up to keep the shield in place, Merlin crooked a finger on his left hand and twisted his wrist slowly.

"But I can hurt you," he ground out, to distract her." Not telegraphing his actions, he sent his magic into the rocks behind the dochraid, lifting a few, then more and more and more. "Hundreds of years ago, you met another sorcerer, and he took your eyes. He hobbled you, and you've never recovered." Blood trickled over his lip and he closed his left hand into a fist. With a twitch, he sent the rocks crashing down onto the dochraid. The magical blows finally stopped. The rocks started to move right away, but at least he'd bought himself some time. Or at least, he thought he had. Instead, the rock pile exploded, and a few of them struck him, causing him to cry out as his hand was hit and pain rocketed through his body. He clutched his hand to his chest, falling to his knees. At least two of his fingers were broken.

When he looked up, the dochraid was standing over him, fist upraised. "Not you, boy. You will not hurt me. But don't you know this is a place where destinies can be changed? Yours ends now." Her cackle filled his ears as she brought her hand down and unleashed her magic.


	19. Battle Royale

_AN: Gingeraffealene, great minds think alike! Or I'm getting predictable – not sure which. And yes, I love the cliffhangers; they force me to keep writing because I can't just leave the poor characters stuck like that.__Gingeraffealne and gaylelbf, you'll have to wait one more chapter to see Merlin "pull out the big guns" and fight the dochraid, but it's coming!_

CHAPTER 19: _Battle Royale_

I watched the war of attrition against the monster made of dirt, my mind whirling. I couldn't really see Arthur and Gwaine, since the stupid monster took up basically all of the hallway, but I could tell that Percival and Elyan were going to get tired long before the monster was reduced to rubble. How do you get rid of dirt? Maybe if Merlin somehow got through the rock slide, he could conjure up a giant Roomba. Or...the world's biggest washing machine. Washing...

I remembered the trip in to the dochraid, when I'd been dragged the length of the tunnel, and I had an idea. "Hey, guys!" I yelled. I didn't want to distract anybody, but I needed them to hear me. "I think I know how to beat this thing, but we have to get it to go down the tunnel."

Percival ducked under a roundhouse punch and turned halfway toward me, panting slightly. "Are you certain your plan will work?"

"Reasonably." I winced as the creature very nearly grabbed Elyan. The one good thing about it was its predictability – it always went for whoever had hit it last or who was the closest – but the knights couldn't avoid it forever. "But you can't win this way."

"Arthur!" bellowed Percival, startling me. "We need to get this thing to go down the tunnel toward you. Any ideas?"

"Then...we need to get Leon to safety first," called the king's voice.

"Percival and Elyan, we'll need to work hard to distract it so Arthur can get Leon free," called Gwaine, and my heart did a happy little flip flop to know that he was safe, at least for now. I was also glad that Arthur was okay, and that Leon was still alive.

"Elyan doesn't have a sword," I reported at a yell.

"Alright. Elyan, going to throw mine under the golem's foot that's to your right in 3...2...1..." A sword slid across the rocky floor, just under the stomping foot, and Elyan snatched it up. "Everyone, attack that foot at once to keep it busy!" Arthur directed further.

"We've got it, Arthur. Get going," ordered Gwaine. I held my breath as the two knights I could see obeyed without question. I wished I could better see what was going on. It was nerve-wracking enough to worry that people would get hurt, but to just imagine how they were doing was somehow much worse. I kept picturing the worst. After far too long, Arthur's voice called out again.

"How are we going to get all of you to this side of the monster?" He had a good point. It took up three quarters of the width of the hallway, and threw itself around with utter abandon, smashing into the rocky sides as it tried to pummel the knights. Any person that got caught between it and the wall wouldn't just be dead, they'd be nothing more than a smear. "I don't think it will follow us if you are still behind it."

"If we attack its foot, it lifts that foot to try and stomp us," reasoned Elyan. "If we do that a few times, Percival and I can run under its foot. But I'm not sure about Mina."

"And Merlin," added Arthur.

"Um, Merlin is trapped behind a rock slide. We can't help him right now," Elyan had to explain.

"And I can make it," I added. "I'm quick enough." I left out my exhaustion and the fact that I was barefoot, and my feet would get all cut up running on the jagged floor. As I said it, Percival slipped just slightly, and a massive fist caught his shoulder, sending him spinning to the floor. He was up quickly, but it only illustrated that time was running out.

"We have to try," called Elyan, guessing at the king's hesitation. "Then if Mina is right and we can defeat it, we'll all come back for Merlin."

"All right. All right. Let's do it then." Even though he was shouting to be heard over the sounds of the fight, I could hear the reluctance in Arthur's voice. He didn't like the risks, but knew as well as the rest of us how few options we had. "Everyone, attack where I am. Elyan, you come through first."

I could just make out motion past the golem and see figures flitting around the leg to our left. Percival joined from our side, and the golem lifted that leg high. I held my breath, hardly able to watch as Elyan dashed under it without hesitation, going low like he was sliding into home. I winced. It was a good thing he had chain mail on. If I did it that way in my nightdress and bare legs, I'd get cut to ribbons. Percival might have been thinking the same thing, because once they yelled to us that Elyan was safe, he called back, "I'll carry Mina. Let's attack the other foot." He gestured with his head for me to come close. I looked at the giant, swinging arms and stomping legs and tried to pull on the dregs of courage I had found before. Making myself crawl toward it was one of the hardest things I'd ever done. Still, there was only death in my future if I stayed put, so with great reluctance I moved.

With a suddenness that caught me by surprise, Percival threw an arm around my waist and darted forward. I couldn't help but squeeze my eyes shut. I don't know if the golem thing expected the move after Elyan's trick or if we were slower or just bigger, but we didn't quite make it. The foot came down and forward, and we came apart and went rolling across the cavern floor. I think I hit every single bump in the place, then was pulled to my feet by – "Gwaine!"

"Good to see you, dumpling. Can you run?"

"Oh, yes!" Behind me, Arthur was pulling up Percival.

"Let's go!" called the king, and we took off running. I lead the way, because I had a destination in mind. Also, they all had that hero complex I mentioned earlier. I had no doubt they'd cover me if the golem caught up.

"Almost there!" I panted over my shoulder. I risked a glance and wished I hadn't. The golem's size was working against it, as it had now had to bend to fit, but it was still within a handsbreadth of Percival. I could hear the wonderful sound of running water. A fist crashed down, and Percival barely dodged out of the way. The golem smashed the other fist against the wall in apparent frustration and small stones rained down on our heads. I noted in passing that we had picked up Leon somewhere along the way, and he was stumbling along with Gwaine on one side and Arthur on the other, which slowed us even more. I realized that Percival was as close as he was to the golem on purpose, keeping its attention. "We have...to get...it into the water," I gasped, embarrassingly out of breath as we stumbled into a room the size of a small ranch house. The floor had about 8 inches of water, and a stream of water maybe two feet across poured in from an opening in the stone ceiling. It drained out somewhere we couldn't see, because the water level was the same as when the kobolds had dragged me past it.

I gracefully fell face-first into the water and Elyan jerked me to my feet. There was a crash and a yell behind me, but my hair was a sodden curtain that blocked my vision pretty completely. "Waterfall," I wheezed. "Behind the waterfall." Elyan's hand was the only thing directing me, but instead of coming with me, he pushed me the right direction and let go, calling out for Arthur.

I kept stumbling forward, then the water was pounding on my head for a split second. I fell again from the force, the slippery rocks, and the blood on the bottoms of my poor abused feet, but I hardly noticed. I climbed to my feet, then was past the waterfall. Shoving my hair out of my face, I turned back and whatever breath I had rushed out of me.

Gwaine was face-down in the water practically under the golem's foot, and Arthur was held up in the air in the punishing grip of one gigantic hand like a male Fay Wray. His face was turning purple as he strained against the monster's hold. Percival and Elyan were running toward them, and Leon was sitting in the water to my right against a small outcropping that kept him out of the line of sight of the golem. He was conscious, but only just, and swayed even as he sat.

I had a sudden fear that I was about to see the death of the king of Camelot and probably Gwaine and the others too. Then the fear began to bubble and boil within me, and it heated into rage. The quiet, uncertain girl I'd been melted in the crucible of mortal danger. Instead of cowering behind the waterfall, I stepped forward and waved my arms. "Come here, you pile of manure! You don't get to hurt them! You're nothing but angry dirt. So come here, and see if you can get me!" I scooped a small stone off the bottom of the pool I stood in and threw it, striking it at chest level. I could see that Gwaine was on his feet, and he yelled something to me, but I was so far beyond listening. I screamed so loudly it echoed painfully. "I'm the one you want, you imbecilic mulch-man!" I screamed again and waved my arms, and wonder of wonders, it took two steps my way. It began to shrink a little in the water and I felt a stirring of hope in the middle of my seething anger. I screamed again. "C'mon, rocks for brains! You know you want the screaming to stop!" Seeming to make up its mind, the golem rushed toward me. It melted with each step, but it still towered over all of us. Another step and I stepped back behind the waterfall. There was only a space of maybe four feet back there, then I was up against the stone. It was going to reach me before it melted completely. Well, that sucked, but at least it wouldn't get to step on or squish anyone else.

Three more steps and it was only about 10 feet tall, then 8. Arthur fell from its hand and it raised both fists together to smash down on me as it stepped into the waterfall. I stared right at is as those hands began to come down, then it was knocked sideways as Arthur pushed it down. Percival and Gwaine jumped on as well, and as they held it down, it dissolved into nothing but a swirl of mud in the water.

It took my brain a moment and my body much longer to realize that the danger had passed, and I sat down right in the water. My hands began to shake and I was suddenly freezing. "Holy fuzzballs." My voice was shaking too. "Did we win? Is anybody dead?"

"I think we're all still here," answered Gwaine, with a wisp of a smile.

And that's when seven more golems rose up from the ground.


	20. Magic Joins

_AN: Hamato-Grayson, the Arthur and Merlin banter is specifically for you.__Gingeraffealene and gaylelbf, totally guilty as charged, I'm an adrenaline junky who puts the characters in terrible situations!__Optymista, thank you for your lovely words.__Time for Merlin to kick some butt. Woohoo!_

CHAPTER 20: _Magic Joins_

_Merlin_

Merlin could tell the spell that the dochraid was preparing was meant to be deadly, but he had learned a trick from his fight with Nimue. Bracing for the pain, he allowed the spell to hit, but channeled the power into his own reserve of magic. It felt like his skin was going to burst, like he was burning from the inside out, but he knew his actions had kept it from hurting him physically. With a long inhale, he pushed the dochraid's own power back out at her, with a healthy dose of his own. It roared out, a fireball the size of an elephant.

The dochraid was thrown forty feet to smash into the other side of the cavern hard enough that big chunks of rocks broke free at the impact. She wailed the entire way, only rising in volume as she fell to the ground. Merlin was disappointed at the aural evidence that she hadn't been incapacitated by the blast. Worse, as her shriek grew louder, cracks appeared on the rock walls all around them. Merlin shot a lightning bolt at the dochraid as she climbed to her feet, hoping to get her to stop her wail. Instead, she used a version of his trick and rebounded the spell back at him. It didn't do him any damage, but it did disrupt his next spell, and the blast of air he'd been conjuring died out at the tips of his fingers. Then his lights that were floating all around them went out, and he had to take a second to re-light them so he could see. By the time he did, his opponent was somehow standing only a few feet away. She began that annoying cackle and swirled one finger in the air like she was ordering another round at the tavern.

The ground beneath Merlin turned from solid rock to slippery shale, and he began to sink into it, forcing him to stop casting again to stop his fall. As he did, fist-sized rocks began to roll toward him from all directions. He cast a quick shield, but missed the first two, which bounced painfully off his chest. She was so fast, her casting so instinctual he was always one step behind. Trying to counter that speed, he didn't cast a new spell, instead sending his shield bursting outward, but she only rocked back and didn't fall. She cackled again, and he thought it was the most annoying sound he'd ever heard. She cast something at his head, but he had sent out another fireball at the same time, and the spells simply destroyed each other.

Merlin didn't have time to think or do anything but react. His broken fingers sent shocks of pain through him, and aches bloomed in his chest, feet, ankles, and elsewhere. He needed to end this permanently somehow. He cast three lightning bolts in quick succession, making her scream again and the rocks crack even more. The nauseating smell of burning flesh reached him, but the dochraid still stood.

"Your friends think they've won since they beat my golem. I'll just send an army of golems!" Her magic rushed past Merlin and out of the chamber as fear and anger filled him. "In a moment, they will fertilize my cave with their blood!"

Furious, determined to stop her gibbering for good, Merlin called up more magic than he normally dared to use and the entire cave began to shake. As he coalesced the magic into a truly fearsome spell, a figure appeared in front of him. It was Taliesin, and it wasn't. With his magic so close to the surface, Merlin could sense that it was something beyond the world, and could see that time had paused around them. "I promised a mutual friend I would help, and I can do just this one more time," said the figure cryptically. "You cannot kill the dochraid. It's woven into the fabric of the world. But you can bury it so far that it won't dig out for a thousand years or more. Here's how." The man / thing leaned over and whispered a spell right in Merlin's air. Then it smiled. "It will be many, many years before you can command magic at this level, so today I will help. And I will appear to your friends so they think I am responsible for the magic, if you wish. Or you could roll the dice and let them know...?" It trailed off.

"Not yet," decided Merlin. "Please let them think it was you. And thank you for your help." It smiled one more enigmatic smile and was gone. Time began again, and Merlin wove the spell that had been put into his mind. It was more complex than anything he'd ever tried or imagined before. Then he unleashed his magic in a way and a quantity that he'd never dared before. The dochraid had sent a blast his way, but his own magic was so powerful that it simply devoured her spell. He sensed her disbelief and fear but was too busy riding the bucking bronco of his magic to react.

The magic burned through his veins with the power of the sun, but instead of hurting, it was cleansing. In fact, for those few moments, he was beyond space and pain and his body. He knew the magic, unchecked, would devour everything it touched, and distantly realized that it would leave a hole across the land for a hundred miles. With a thought, he turned it down and made sure his friends were shielded. Then Merlin molded the earth, pushing the dochraid down so deep that she might never emerge again, and causing a cylindrical tower to form under his feet and push him to the surface. The ceiling obediently peeled back to let him out.

He vaporized the golems that were menacing his friends and opened the ceiling above them, caving in the side of the cavern so they could easily climb out. He wanted to wait and see if they were safe, but his helper's influence vanished and with effort, he recapped the magic that had raged. He came back to himself, fully Merlin once more, and his body decided that was enough. He sighed, pleased his friends were safe, and let darkness take him.

_Arthur and Company_

We all stared in mute horror at the new golems. It would take an ocean to drown them all, it seemed. Before they could attack, a high wail cut through the air, so intense we all covered our ears. The walls shook and began to crack, because we didn't have enough going on. The shriek stopped, then started again. This time, everyone standing was literally knocked off their feet, including the golems. The ground trembled and the ceiling cracked more, stones splashing into the water around us. Then white light filled the whole space and I thought, _Oh crap. I'm dead. Again. _But I wasn't. The light faded and the golems were gone, and actually, so was the ceiling. It had collapsed into a very convenient ramp leading out of the cavern. A familiar looking figure stood at the top of the ramp and called down to us.

"You are safe now. The dochraid is buried far beneath the earth. Your friend Merlin is up here, as are your horses. Go, be safe." It was in the Taliesin form, but I knew it was my guide.

"Wait!" called Arthur, but the figure had disappeared.

It was an extremely slow and painful climb out of the pit. Nobody was unscathed. Leon was skin and bones, awake but too weak to climb out himself. Elyan and Gwaine each threw one of his arms over their shoulder and half-dragged him up the slope. Both of them were limping and covered in bruises and abrasions, but claimed to be unhurt. Arthur's left arm hung useless at his side until he allowed Percival to force his shoulder back into place. I would have passed out, but the king only grunted. He also moved very stiffly, and I could tell that his ribs hurt. Percival's right arm was scraped and bleeding from elbow to shoulder, and there didn't seem to be a place on him that wasn't bruised and battered. And I probably looked like Carrie after my whole ordeal. My nightdress was no longer even close to its original off white, unless it was the offest white that existed. It was filthy and I had a feeling my hair might never be the same again. My split lip and bruised jaw from Sealgaire barely even registered in the list of things that hurt.

Arthur and I all but crawled up the slope side by side, both too stubborn to wait and have our healthier companions come back to help us. We made silent, painful progress until I paused to rest and said, "Thank you, Arthur. Thank you for coming for me. I will tell my queen all you've done for me, and I know she'll be grateful too."

He paused as well, and looked over at me with some surprise. "You remember who you are?"

I nodded. "When Sealgaire slapped me around, I guess he knocked something loose. I'm Seraphine, ward of Queen Annis, and acting as her emissary. I was investigating the bandits and under orders to tell you what I learned. I was to pretend we would supply them with weapons so I could learn more about them." I had to stop, out of breath. "I'll tell you all about it...later."

Arthur nodded thoughtfully. "I will look forward to that." He offered me a hand up, and I was too tired to refuse. We toiled slowly after the rest, the lot of us as speedy and energetic as a turtle race.

"We found Merlin!" called Elyan when his group reached the top. The warlock was just regaining consciousness, covered in dust, and much worse for the wear, and therefore fit with the rest of our group perfectly. The horses were also there, including those from Leon's whole party, and still had their saddle bags and supplies, which was a huge bonus. Arthur looked over our sorry band. I was helping Merlin wrap his poor broken fingers, Gwaine had brought Leon some water, Elyan was wrapping Percival's bleeding arm, and generally we were doing our best to help each other.

"Friends," called Arthur, claiming everyone's attention. "We have been through much, and we are all injured and weary. We are certainly in no state to defend ourselves. But if you can find it in yourself to go a little longer, there is a small village not far from here. An hour's slow ride or perhaps even less, and we should be able to find food and a place to clean up and tend our wounds. Can everyone ride?" More than one of us looked at Leon, but even he nodded. The prospect of a safe place to sleep, hot food, and maybe even a bed was more than we could resist.

It took Percival, Elyan, and Gwaine to get Leon onto a horse, and they tied him on as he could barely sit up straight. We all pretended not to notice that it took Arthur three tries to get on his. Percival seemed to get up on a wing and a prayer. If we ran into any bandits, we might just have to fight them with words, I thought. As for me, I may have told Sealgaire that I would never ride on a man's lap, but when Gwaine offered that I could ride in front of him, I threw all of that – and all of Annis' lessons about independence – out the proverbial window. I curled into him like a cat, tucked my head under his chin, let him put his cloak around me, and slept like I'd found the softest feather bed in Camelot. Sometimes a girl just needs a little pampering. And honestly, I'd had a lifetime's worth of crap squished into the last couple of days.

As I was falling asleep, I could overhear Arthur and Merlin having a conversation that didn't seem very typical for a king and a servant.

"Arthur, what happened, anyway?"

"While you were off taking a nice nap, we had to fight giant monsters made of rock and earth."

"Dirt monsters? That doesn't sound so mad. What did you do, mop them up? Oh, that's right, you wouldn't know how to clean up, not dirt or anything else."

"Merlin, you are the most disrespectful servant I've ever met."

"Arrogant plodder."

"Clumsy camel."

They might have gone on longer, but by then I was asleep.

We found the village as promised, and I got a first hand look at how much many of Arthur's people loved him. The villagers sent a messenger on to Camelot to get us an escort home, and literally argued over who could give up their beds for us. They helped Merlin treat our injuries and plied us with food and drink. The able-bodied men took turns keeping watch all night. The innkeeper even drew me a bath and gave me some of his daughter's clothes to wear and a comb to use. I could have kissed him! I attempted to count my cuts and bruises but finally gave up. And I happily burned what was left of my nightdress. I knew I was lucky, though. Arthur had three cracked ribs, and it turned out Percival had a broken collarbone. Leon was dehydrated and nearly starving. Yet somehow, once more, we had all survived.


	21. Finality

_AN: The final chapter always takes me a long time to write, because I hate letting go of stories! Anyway, I hope you enjoyed it. A huge thank you to Hamato-Grayson for the prompt and the freedom to run with it in all of the weird directions my head goes. I've truly enjoyed writing Mina, a funny, quirky, brave character, and I hope you catch the reference at the end. Also, there is a special moment in this just for Gingeraffealene, who always gives me so much affirmation. _

CHAPTER 21: _Finality_

When I came out of the room I'd been given the next morning, there were four darling little girls who wanted to braid my hair, since I didn't have a ladies' maid. I didn't tell them I didn't need one but happily accepted the role of Rapunzel. They trailed me to the common room of the inn and worked while I put away warm, sweet porridge and worked out my stiffness.

Arthur came in as they finished up. I don't know if they realized who he was, but they all giggled loudly as they left, making me grin.

"Sire," I greeted him as he looked after my hairdressers with amusement.

"Lady Seraphina."

I winced. I had all of the memories and background from this life now, but that still didn't feel like me. I felt even less like Sara, the volleyball player who had been struck by a car. "Please, still call me Mina. I have...changed these last few days, and Mina feels like the real me."

"Of course." He was ever gracious. "And since we fought golems together and crawled out of a mud pit side by side, I think you'd better just call me Arthur."

He thanked the innkeeper's daughter when she set down his porridge, making her blush to the roots of her white-blonde hair. I sipped my tea as he ate and detailed Annis' plan to have me approach the bandits as if she wanted an alliance so we could find out who was supplying them. "I have a letter for you from her hidden in the hem of my cloak, but I forgot about it after I was attacked," I concluded. "It's a shame, because they underestimated me, as the queen thought they would." I was often her stealth weapon. "I could have learned more for both of you."

"I personally feel that we accomplished quite a bit," disagreed Arthur. "We know that Morgana has been backing the bandits, and many of them are now dead, including two of their leaders. We know where Morgana is hiding out, and we've stopped the creature attacks in the north. And my missing men are coming home safely."

I smiled. "That was you and Merlin and your knights. I was just hanging on for dear life. But you're right about one thing – you should be proud of what you've accomplished."

"You did more than that. You saved our lives at least once, putting your own on the line. You were loyal and courageous, and I want you to know that you're welcome to stay in Camelot, if you so choose. Sir Geraint had a small estate and no heir. I would gift that to you if you would stay."

My mouth fell open and I gaped like a hungry goldfish. It was truly a princely gift. Annis cared for me, in her own way, but she also used me like a chess piece to accomplish her goals. She was kind but cold, and I couldn't count many in her court I would consider a friend, as she encouraged competition over cooperation. She would not thank Arthur if he convinced me to leave her behind, but it was very tempting. "I...uh...may I think about it?"

"Of course." The door banged open and Gwaine and Percival walked in, followed shortly by the girls who had done my hair, now carrying flower crowns they'd woven.

"Hey, dumpling!" called Gwaine, grinning when I scowled.

"Your entourage has returned, I see," said Arthur. "So I will take my leave." He bowed to the girls as if they were queens, causing them to burst into even more giggles. I let them adorn me with both a crown and flower necklace, then I had an idea.

"You know who just loves wearing flowers and having their hair braided?" I asked the girls conspiratorially. "That dark-haired man over there." They took me at my word and I couldn't help but laugh out loud as Gwaine was swarmed by giggles and flowers. His bemusement as he was ambushed and adorned with flowers was a memory I would treasure for a long, long time.

_Three Weeks Later_

King Arthur and a contingent of his council and knights, plus an honor guard, Merlin, and me, were all waiting in a clearing near the place we'd come up against the dochraid. For a good ten days after we had left, the landscape had continued to gradually change. I was amazed at the differences. The entire valley had disappeared and instead there was a massive mountain that towered over everything else. It was totally out of place in the midst of the small, worn down hills around it. I shivered at the sign of so much power expended and briefly wished we'd move out of its shadow and into the sun. I was nervous about the entire meeting, since I had decided to tell Queen Annis that I'd be staying in Camelot. I'd considered going back to her – I knew she trusted me, but she had plenty of other advisers. And I had found a richness of friendships in Camelot that I had never known.

Arthur, Leon, Gwaine, Elyan, and Percival were all wearing the swords I'd gifted them when we had finally gotten back to Camelot. They were fine blades, and a nice way to give them my thanks on behalf of the queen. I had spent a long time during my recovery considering what I could give Merlin, and was happy with what I finally came up with. I glanced at the man in question, noting there was still a small scorch mark on the sleeve of his jacket and hiding a smile at the memory of how it had happened. A week after we'd returned and I was finally feeling like myself, I had wandered over to Gaius' chambers to see Merlin. I had been dismayed to find smoke billowing from the open door. Running inside, I'd overheard an argument between Gaius and Merlin.

"I thought the protective enchantment Gwaine's mother put on his necklace was a great idea. I just wanted to enchant something Arthur always wears, so I tried to put a spell on his socks. I don't understand what went wrong," Merlin was saying as he used his coat to beat a burning pile.

"Only strong materials can hold a spell like that," yelled Gaius, frantically waving his hands in front of his face to dispel some of the smoke. "Not wool socks!"

They had concocted the lie that Merlin regularly burned Arthur's socks when they became unusable, but for whatever reason had decided to do it inside the chambers instead of out doors, and Arthur bought it apparently.

The memory lightened my mood a bit as we waited.

Not unexpectedly, Annis wasn't pleased by my news, but she wasn't surprised either. She must have guessed from my extended stay or the tone of my letters what I was considering. She did, however, bring the gift for Merlin that I had requested. It was a beautiful, spirited roan mare. I knew Merlin spent a lot of time riding, but didn't have a horse of his own. His face when the queen presented him with the gift and a formal thank you for saving the life of her ward was another memory I'd treasure.

Talks were winding down when time suddenly slowed. I looked to my left and wasn't surprised to see my guide, in his Taliesin guise. "I've grown very fond of you, Mina. I don't usually do that. I won't come see you again after this, but I wanted to give you one last thing. This is a place where destinies can be changed." He smiled. "I think you're going to enjoy this life." Before he could disappear, I gave him a quick hug. He looked simultaneously shocked and pleased. "Don't change, Mina. Just be yourself. See you before the next life." He faded and time sped up. Behind Arthur's back, Gwaine winked at me, and I felt myself blushing. I forced myself to listen to their majesties' words.

"We'll have to give this place a new name," Annis stated.

"How about we name it for the accord we've just completed?" asked Arthur. "We could call it Amity Mountain."

Annis gave him a rare smile and they clasped forearms. "Well said, Arthur. After all, we can hardly call it Camlann Plains now."


End file.
